Gnocchi freeze easily.

Once you have them made (but not boiled), freeze them, separated) on a tray and then dump them into a freezer bag for cooking later.

Joe

Thanks Joe. Should I make them plain or add something to them - garlic, basil?

Parmesan cheese and pepper!

Make it plain. After it is cooked, dress it with EVOO, a little white truffle oil and grated pecorino cheese.

Jim

How funny I'm making ricotta gnocchi tonight for dinner. Serving it with home made frozen tomato sauce.

I make my gnocchi pretty simple -- although I usually add just a dollop of whipped ricotta to the mix.

I like them straight up because then I can concentrate on the sauce, such as:

GORGONZOLA SAUCE (also good on fettuccine)

8 oz gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
cup milk
4 Tbs butter

Heat together on medium heat. In large saucepan mash the cheese as its cooking and continue stirring with wooden spoon. Cook until sauce is creamy consistency (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve pasta. When pasta is ready, heat the sauce and add 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Stir heavy cream in the sauce and add pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan over top of pasta.

WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE

2 Tbs (1/4 stick) butter
2 Tbs olive oil
12 ounces a mix of fresh shiitake mushrooms,
chanterelles, crimini, stemmed, sliced
½ cup sliced shallots
1 ¾ cups chicken stock/broth
1 Tbs chopped fresh sage

Cook butter and olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add stock and sage; simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

PANCETTA AND PEAS CREAM SAUCE

2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 medium-thick round pancetta, cut into small pieces
¼ cup chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas

Add the oil and butter to the pan and when the butter is melted and hot, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for another minute.
Add the pancetta and cook for 3 Â 4 minutes until the pancetta doesnÂt have that white fatty look any more.

Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan, stirring up any of the bacon bits that may be sticking to the pan.

Add the cream and then the peas. Simmer for 3 Â 4 minutes to thicken the sauce.

GARLIC CREAM SAUCE

½ cup roasted garlic, pureed, minced
4 cups heavy cream
Salt and cayenne pepper

In a saucepan combine roasted garlic and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Reduce
heat to a simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by half, about 20 minutes.

In a blender, puree sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

ROASTED GARLIC, FAVA BEAN SAUCE

Makes about 4 cups sauce

Ingredients

8 cups home-made chicken stock
1 whole head garlic, roasted, cloves squeezed into a bowl
2 Tbs cold butter cut into Tbs
1 Tbs freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
½ cup cooked fava beans

Directions

Place stock and roasted garlic in a medium saucepan and reduce to 3 cups. Strain into a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Whisk in the butter and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the fava beans and cook for 1 minute.

Serve with roasted chicken or other meat, or over rice, pasta or polenta.

Or just a good Tomato Sauce or Basil Pesto.

Joe

Joe, would you please post or post link to your gnocchi recipe? Do you mix in a bowl or on your counter - what kind of surface?

TIA

Lee

Keep this secret between you and me...

I bake and peel 2 pounds of baking potatoes. Yes, BAKE.

I rice the potatoes and mix them IN A LARGE BOWL with 2-4 tablespoons whipped ricotta (I'm kinda estimating the amount here) and a really good pinch of salt. I avoid overmixing and ruining the airy texture of the potato.

I slowly add some flour, usually getting to about 1-1/2 cups before I start "feeling" the mix. I want it just dry enough so it doesn't stick to my hands or boards or anything. You have to do this slowly because the moisture of the potato gets absorbed slowly into the flour and it's easy to get too much flour into the mix before you realize it. It may take up to 2 cups flour.

I gently knead the dough ON A BOARD but not as firmly as bread dough. It's just a thorough mixing process. It'll make a big ball that I divide into about six smaller balls.

I roll out each small ball into 3/4-inch diameter ropes. I use a big ol', lightly floured wood pastry board.

I cut the ropes into 1-inch long pieces.

I never learned to roll the gnocchi off the convex side of a fork as my grandmother did but I get pretty good results by pressing and rocking each piece against the inner/concave side of the fork.

When finished texturing each piece, I place it on a large, lightly floured tray (one that will fit in the freezer if I go that route).

Into medium-boiling water. When they float to the top, I cook for about a minute and quickly scopp out.

Joe

Thank you so much Joe. My DIL's family makes gnocchi but we have not yet been able to get together for them to teach me. I am ready to try on my own. I saw Lydia Bastianach make grocchi on PBS but only caught part of the episode and she seemed to emphasize that you needed to mix on a marble surface which I don't have. I have a huge shallow bowl that should be perfect. Now that I know I don't need a stone surface, I'll order a ricer and then I'll be set.

I'm assuming that "whipped" ricotta means regular ricotta that has some air beaten in to it.

Thanks again,

Lee