Chorizo & Italian Sausage, Olives, Spinach, & Red Pepper Pasta

Our local grocery stores are starting to carry more of what are considered around here "ethnic" items.  In other words, venturing into extensive stocks of Latin American and Asian ingredients.  Yay!  Recently, the local Publix has started to carry fresh chorizo-flavored sausage in addition to their Italian-styled.  This recipe uses one of each to create a salty-peppery Mediterranean flavor akin to sugo alla puttanesca but with sausage instead of anchovies and capers.  It was great made with roasted red pepper sauce and orecchiette (AKA "little ears" pasta)

Ingredients:

• 1 6-inch link Italian flavored fresh sausage, removed from its casing
• 1 6-inch link chorizo-flavored fresh sausage, removed from its casing
• 10 oil-cured olives or other strong dark olives, pitted and cut in several pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch squares
• 1 package of baby spinach, well washed
  
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper sauce, tomato sauce, or spaghetti sauce
• 2 servings pasta, water & salt
  
• 2-4 Tbl. olive oil
• grated parmesan to garnish

Procedure:

1. Start the pasta in boiling salted water
   
2. In a large sauté pan or skillet large enough to hold all the ingredients (including the pasta), crumble and sauté the sausage.  If the sausage is very greasy, drain.  Otherwise, keep the sausage fat in the pan for flavoring.  If the sausage is very lean, add 1-2 Tbl. olive oil.
3. Add the olives and red pepper and sauté 2-3 minutes
4. Add the spinach and a ladle or two of the pasta water.
5. Sauté until the spinach is wilted.
6. Add the sauce and heat through.
7. Drain the pasta and toss it with the other ingredients. 
8. Drizzle 2 Tbl. of olive oil over the whole and lightly toss again.
9. Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top.
   

Chasing Fluffy Gnocchi

Each batch of gnocchi comes out looking a bit better and they really don't take very long to make, even making cheese from scratch. And with each batch of cheese I make, even that becomes easier.

Oh, drat. We just ate them. They disintegrated a bit in the water and then they felt grainy like an overcooked scrambled egg. Blech.

Today's variation on the hunt for the fluffiest gnocchi tries to use absolutely as little flour as possible, partly because I am going to share these with a friend who is a carb phobe and partly because I'm guessing that the less flour in them the fluffier they will be.

I use the grooved back of a ceramic tile for getting the grooves on the gnocchi. My father bought the tiles many years ago as pizza stones in the oven. Anything with grooves will do.

So, from start to finish, here 'tis.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon skim milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 egg (and a 2nd egg if needed)
• 1 oz. finely grated parmesan
• salt, white pepper & freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup flour (most of this will be discarded at end)
  

Procedures:

1. Pour the milk into a large microwaveable container
2. Microwave the milk on high for about 15 minutes until it is very hot but not boiling over
3. Pour the vinegar into the milk and let sit 30 minutes
4. Reheat in the microwave on high for another 5 minutes
5. Let sit another 30 minutes or until cool enough to handle -- at this point the milk should have separated into curds and whey
6. Pour the mixture into a colander lined with muslin or a few layers of cheese cloth and let drain.
7. Wring the cheese in the cloth until it is quite dry.
8. Whir the homemade cheese, parmesan, egg and seasonings in the food processor. If the mixture remains in crumbs, add a second egg. The mixture should be stiff enough to leave the sides of the blender and form a lump.
9. Sift the flour into a small bowl for rolling the gnocchi.
10. Spoon up enough dough to make a 3/4 inch ball and drop it into the flour.
11. Roll the dough in the palms of your hand to make a ball, shaking off the excess flour.
12. Place the ball of dough on your grooved instrument (tile, fork, etc.) and flatten the ball a bit.
13. The gnoccho should now be shaped somewhat like a raw cookie that has been flatted with a fork, flat side up. Pick up one edge of it and roll it on itself.
14. Place each gnoccho on a lined cookie sheet and freeze.
15. When the gnocchi are completely frozen, move them to a plastic bag.

To cook the gnocchi, boil them in plenty of water just until they float. Then place them in the sauce of your choice and let them finish cooking a little in the sauce.

This batch made 28 medium large gnocchi. If you use low fat or whole milk you will have more cheese and therefore more gnocchi.

I will let you know when we eat this if we've finally accomplished the ethereally light gnocchi I've read about but never really experienced, truth be told ...

In a word, NO.

Kneadless Pasta!!!

I had a hankering for some fresh pasta but really didn't want to haul out the Kitchen Aid and didn't feel like hand kneading, so a quick search found a wonderful solution on The Second Pancake. What a great blog!

Their recipe involves just few pulses of the food processor and gathering the resulting particles of dough into a ball!

We're going to have fresh pasta more often around here thanx to Tim and The Second Pancake -- as soon as I find the missing crank for my pasta roller!

Merging Quark & Gnocchi in Search of the Ultimate Melt-in-Your-Mouth Dumplings

Now, tell the truth. How many of us have ever had gnocchi that truly melted in our mouths? I read of gnocchi that are "cloud-like pillows" and compare that vision to my tasty little dumplings. They're good ... but "cloud-like?" Hmmph. So I've been experimenting and I'm getting closer to gnocchi that truly melt in my mouth.

The closest I have come so far to "melt in my mouth" was a batch made with a balsamic vinegar/skim milk quark. I used the microwave to make the quark and rung it out until very dry. Then I used very little flour. They look like uncooked ginger snaps but they taste wonderful and do indeed melt in your mouth!

The next experiment was with whole milk quark soured with half rice vinegar and half lemon juice. Again, I used very little flour. The result is ever so slightly rubbery but not at all heavy.

So, the next gnocchi experiment will be with skim milk and white wine vinegar. I'm just guessing that it is the fat content in the milk that is causing the rubberiness.

Each batch took 1/2 gallon milk, about 2/3 cup acid, one egg, scant 1 cup sifted flour stirred in, and flour for dropping the pieces in to roll.

Since the dough is very wet, I don't use the "roll-a-rope" method. Instead, I drop the dough by the spoonful into the bowl of flour. Then I pick up the dollop and roll it into a ball. Finally, I shape it and place it on a lined cookie sheet to freeze.

Gnocchi is Quick to Make in Small Amounts

As I've continued trolling the web for gnocchi info, I've seen lots of recipes that talk about setting aside hours for making them. And yes, if you intend to stock your freezer with many meals worth it can take a good while, just like making lots of Christmas cookies. But if you keep the batch small, it is suitably quick for an after-work supper. Starting with just one large potato in the microwave is the trick. I started at 5 and we had sweet potato gnocchi sauced and on the plate in a leisurely hour and a half -- including sitting, cooling and cooking times.

Ingredients for the gnocchi:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced
• 1 egg
• flour in about equal proportion to the amount of sweet potato when mashed
• Salt, white pepper, and nutmeg (freshly ground)

Procedure (I do the first five steps all in the same bowl):

1. Place the peeled and sliced sweet potato in a covered dish and microwave until mashable (approximately 6-8 minutes). Do not add water.
   
2. Gently mash the sweet potatoes with a fork or hand masher. Use a potato ricer if you have one.
3. Let the mashed potato cool enough so that it will not cook the egg (20 minutes or so).
4. Add the egg, salt pepper and nutmeg and mix well with a fork. DO NOT use an electric mixer or a blender. The more you "beat up" the potatoes, the more flour they will need to form gnocchi.
5. Using a sifter, start adding flour to the potato about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Use as little flour as possible to make a sticky ball that you can remove from the bowl.
6. Divide the ball of dough in four and chill for 20-30 minutes to stiffen a bit.
7. Remove a quarter of the dough and, using as little flour as possible, make 3/4 inch balls and shape each of these as desired. I roll them across the grooves on the bottom of an oven tile I use for cooking pizza. I've been known to "stamp" them with the tenderizing end of a meat hammer. Use your imagination. A simple thumb dent works, too.
   
8. Place the gnocchi on a plate or cookie sheet leaving room between them. Either cook immediately or freeze.

Sweet potato gnocchi have a wonderfully mild taste with a hint of sweetness. One large sweet potato resulted in 50 good-sized gnocchi (4-6 servings depending on whether they are the main ingredient in supper).

To make sauced gnocchi for supper:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil the gnocchi until they float.
2. In a large pan with a cover, lightly saute chopped vegetables in olive oil.
   
3. Add flavorings such a jarred pesto or tapenade, chopped garlic, etc.
4. Finish the veggie sauce with a knob of butter if desired.
5. Add the cooked gnocchi to the veggie sauce and stir.
6. Cover and let simmer slowly for about 10 minutes to assure that the gnocchi lose their "flour taste."
7. Serve with freshly grated cheese.

Last night it was sliced mushrooms, diced red pepper, and chopped baby romaine that was starting to wilt. Use whatever needs to be taken out of your veggie drawer. The cheese was Asiago. Yummy.

Kielbasa & Leeks in Mustard Cream

This tastes a good bit richer than it is while using skim milk and low-fat turkey kielbasa. Sometimes the low-fat sausages lack a bit of oomp. This recipe compensates for that by adding a creamy sauce. This isn't low fat but it's lower than it could be and not so rich as to be heavy.

This dish will vary greatly depending on your choice of mustard and starch. The combination of the onion-y sweetness of the leeks with a smooth honey mustard is yummy. We used some homemade potato gnocchi for the starch.

Ingredients (for two servings):

• 2 servings of kielbasa, e.g. 1/2 a package of low fat turkey keilbasa, sliced into disks
• 2 leaks, white & light green parts only, halved sliced and washed
• 1-2 Tbl. butter or margarine
• 1-2 Tbl. olive oil
• 1-3 Tbl. mustard -- adjust according to the strength of the mustard
• 1/4 cup (scant) milk
• 1-2 oz. grated parmesan cheese
• 2 servings starch (cooked gnocchi, potato, or pasta)

Procedure:

1. Melt the butter or margarine and olive oil in a large skillet until sizzling.
2. Sauté the leeks and kielbasa until the leeks are soft.
3. Stir the mustard and milk into the leeks and kielbasa to make a sauce and cook to thicken.
4. Stir in the cooked starch to coat with the sauce
5. Gently stir in the grated cheese and serve.
   

That's it. From fridge to plate in only a few minutes.

The Gnocchi Saga Continues

Recipes for ricotta gnocchi on the web seem even easier than potato gnocchi. Of course, not being satisfied to simply follow a recipe to the letter, I decided to violate a few "rules" others had set down.

First rule to be violated: Use fresh whole-milk ricotta and drain it overnight. I used part-skim ricotta from the supermarket and didn't drain it.

Second rule to be violated: Carefully mix the egg and ricotta by hand, adding very little or even no flour. I used the food processor and flour about equal in weight to the ricotta.

Potato gnocchi must be made without blending or processing the potatoes because to do so breaks the cell walls of the potato, setting the water loose. More water means more flour which means heavier gnocchi.

But, if careful and limited pulsing of a food processor can make pie crust, why not try it for ricotta gnocchi?

You need a fairly large food processor to make this recipe. I have a 1980s vintage model that refuses to die.

Ingredients:

• 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
  
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1-2 ounces freshly grated parmesan or other grating cheese
• Salt and white pepper to taste.
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups sifted flour

Procedure:

1. Quickly mix the first five ingredients in the processor.
2. Sift 1/2 cup flour into the processor and pulse briefly on slow speed to mix.
3. Repeat step two until the dough is stiff enough to form a ball. Use as little flour and as little pulsing as possible.
4. Remove the dough from the processor and divide into four balls. Wrap and refrigerate briefly to help firm the dough for handling.
5. Taking one ball from the refrigerator at a time, divide it and shape it into stubby rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter.
6. Cut the rolls at 3/4 to 1 inch intervals and roll each piece into a ball. Shape the ball by rolling it over fork times, whisk wires, or other surface to make grooves.

Store and prepare to eat as with the potato gnocchi in the previous post.

How to Use a Whole Bag of Potatoes

There are only the two of us, so I generally buy potatoes only as needed. Bill has been swooning for lack of mashed potatoes, which really are best made with baked russets. Summer is no time to turn on the oven for just two potatoes. If I just microwaved them one or two at a time, inevitably some poor, lost potato would end up sprouting in the bottom of the veggie bin. What could I do with a bag of 13 good-sized russet potatoes that would allow me to bake them all at once? Time for some new cooking experiments.

The web came to the rescue with many seemingly simple recipes for potato gnocchi. Gnocchi are little Italian dumplings. Like dumplings everywhere, they can be made from a variety of ingredients, a simple version using potatoes, flour, eggs and salt. The pictures of web versions can be a bit intimidating because they seem so evenly shaped. Mine might more appropriately be called "malfatti," Italian slang for poorly shaped dumplings or pasta. No matter, they were very tasty.

Ingredients:

• Cooked russet potatoes, still warm, skins removed.
  
• 1 egg for each two medium-large potatoes
• Enough flour to make a dough you can handle.
• Salt to taste
  

Baked potatoes are drier than boiled resulting in less flour being needed to make a dough. Less flour means more potato flavor. Measurements and proportions vary with the weather, size and moisture of potatoes and eggs. I had seven biggish potatoes, 4 large eggs, and added about two-and-a-half cups of sifted flour to get a sticky dough that left the sides of the bowl.

Procedure:

1. Mash or grate the potatoes by hand. Do not blend or process them. Using a blender makes the potatoes runny which would result in more flour being needed and heavier gnocchi.
2. Mix the egg into the potatoes.
3. Work in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough leaves the side of the bowl and can be handled.
   
4. Refrigerate the dough a few minutes to stiffen it a bit and make it easier to handle.
5. To shape the gnocchi, roll pieces of dough into snakes about 3/4 inch in diameter and cut into 3/4 inch pieces. You may then roll these pieces into balls and roll the balls across the tines of a fork, holes of a grater, or wires of a whisk to make ridges in the gnocchi that will better hold sauce.

If you are going to freeze the gnocchi, place them separated from each other on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen, put them in meal-sized plastic bags.

To cook the gnocchi, whether frozen or not, bring a pot of water to a boil and gently put the gnocchi in one or two at a time. Make sure the pot is big enough that your gnocchi can poach without touching each other. At first the gnocchi will lie at the bottom of the pan. Move them gently to make sure they are not stuck. Wait until they float and then remove them from the water.

At this point, gnocchi become a wonderful canvas to be painted with sauce, pesto, butter, whatever strikes your fancy.

Yummy!

Pasta Servings are Difficult to Eyeball

I know this runs counter to the idea of imprecise cooking but who wants a half serving of left over pasta? I started weighing pasta when on an exchange-based diet and found that weighing dry pasta helps you have the right amount of pasta every time.

Dried pastas differ greatly in shape and thickness but for many, a serving is listed in the nutrition panel as 56 dry grams. Just multiply this by the number of servings and you will have the right amount of pasta with no leftovers. If you find that 56 grams is too much for you, choose your own number and commit it to memory.

Local box stores carry food scales that weigh in both grams and ounces. Try to find one that has a "tare" button that allows you to cancel out the weight of the container you pour the food into.

What can be imprecise in cooking pasta? The water, the salt and the time.

How much water? Lots. How much salt? A good deal. Watch Giada De Laurentiis throw salt into the pasta water some time. How long? Fish out a piece and test it. I usually drain pasta when it is still a little under done so it can do it's last cooking in with the sauce.

Rosemary/Garlic/Apricot/Olive/Leeks/Salami Pasta

I was a little afraid this one had too many distinct flavors but it turned out to be surprisingly subtle. Rosemary, apricots, leeks and olives together!?! Who'da thunk it?

Adapted from a recent recipe in the newspaper. As usual with my recipes, measurements are approximate and flexible.

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz. good Italian salami or other dried sausage julienned.
3 leeks, white part only, split, sliced and well washed.
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped.
2 cloves garlic (or to taste) finely chopped with the rosemary.
6 dried apricots, thinly sliced
6 calamata or other dark olives, pitted and julienned.
4 servings of pasta, ideally large, tri-color radiattore
2 oz. grated parmesan, grana padana, or other hard cheese.
Salted boiling water.

• Boil the pasta until al dente, drain. (This can be done while cooking the other ingredients.)
• Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
  
• Add salami and cook approximately 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Add leeks, cook approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add rosemary, garlic, apricots and olives. Cook about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Add a ladle-full of pasta water to the sauté pan and cover letting the mixture steam for a couple minutes until the leeks are almost done but not mushy.
• Add the drained al dente pasta to the pan, stir, cover and turn the heat down. Allow the mixture to meld for a couple minutes. Do this with the lid off if the mixture is too wet.
• Serve with the grated cheese sprinkled on top.

Makes 4 servings.

And, oh, by the way, this one is not great reheated the next night. Edible but muddled.