Suntem Mirakolix

We all appreciate a good old recipe from our granny – especially when it is an Italian recipe. Last week Mirco’s dear nonna shared one of her specialities with us - Gnocchi di patate con sugo di pomodoro.

Last Thursday was our first Sezatoare Urbana in 2015 and we decided to go for something special in celebration of the new year. In collaboration with our colleagues from Inside Journey, we chose “International Cooking” as the topic.

To those who never tried home-made gnocchi I must testify a clear lack. Admittedly, before last week I was one of them. I was never a friend of potatoes and the store-bought gnocchi were often too potatoey for me. So I was a bit sceptic when Mirco came up with the idea to cook gnocchi – however, you should know that Mirco is strictly against everything that involves flour (“Carbs are my enemy!”). Some of us seriously doubt his Italian nationality as he hates pasta as the devil fears holy water.

So I knew that the dish must be good – and oh me, oh my, it was the pure bliss.

While some of us were cutting the tomatoes for the salad with butter knives due to a lack in kitchen knives, the others had the pleasure to get stuck in sticky, mushy dough (actually, the real fun begun when the eggs were added!). 

Our office went through all the dusty, wet and then squashy stages of dough – making.

Although we had many enthusiastic helpers who kneaded the potatoes with the semblance of real cooks, making gnocchi is a time taking process. After 3 hours of peeling, cooking, cutting, kneading, mashing and rolling the gnocchi were finally ready to be cooked. (Ain't they beautiful?)

  

Two huge pots and one and a half hours of cooking were needed to tackle this stunning amount of gnocchi and turn them into a delicious meal. But the waiting was worth it! And the guests pleased.

(you can tell from the picture that also the dessert was a hit – Ghiorgie could not help himself from finishing off the pudding all by himself)

Sadly, the gnocchi were gone too fast to make a proper picture before. We gobbled it all up the second the gnocchi were on the table so I have to leave you with your imagination here. But we were way to hungry and the food way to delicious too bear only one more second of waiting.  

All the more reason to try them out on your own! Let us know how you liked the recipe from Mirco’s nonna

Gnocchi with tomato sauce

Serves 6 people

For the gnocchi:

1 kg potatoes

250 gr all-purpose flour

1 pinch of salt

1 egg

For the sauce:

1 can of concentrated tomatoes

300 g fresh tomatoes

1 leak

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

6 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

Basil leaves

Salt and pepper

Parmigiano

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water. Peel and mash them while they are still hot.

Add the flour and salt and knead with care so all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Dust your working surface with flour and form a roll that is two fingers thick. Cut the roll into two cm pieces. To give them a beautiful shape, scrape the gnocchi with a fork with the help of your thumb.

Now prepare the sauce by frying the finely chopped onion in olive oil until golden. Then add the tomatoes, the leak and the tomato pulp. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add salt, pepper and sugar. After about twenty minutes add some basil leaves and continue cooking on small heat.

Boil the water in a big pot and throw in your gnocchi. As soon as they start to float, take them out and drain them in a sieve.

Serve with Parmigiano and basil leaves.

Pofta buna!

Ina