Instructions
I’ve got big hands. Thick fingers too.
And you know what they say – big hands, big gloves.
While big hands might be a great thing when you’re doing DIY or landscaping, they’re not always the most useful thing when it comes to working as a chef. All too often we’re trying to create delicate, elegant dishes, full of fine detail. Chunky digits get in the road.
My first introduction to the nature of this dilemma came many years back when I set out to make gnocchi for the first time. It seemed straightforward enough. Cook some spuds, mash them finely, then gently mix in eggs and flour.
All good.
But a great gnocchi dough is very soft, very delicate. That’s OK if you have fine nimble fingers, not so easy if your hands look like a Kenworth parking bay. I tried and tried to roll the paste into fine strings, but ended up starting over. Eventually I had it done, and cut these into short lengths.
Each piece had to then be moulded on a gnocchi board to form the traditional ridges that help catch the sauce. Unfortunately, my technique for pressing gently was more like using a mallet to squeeze a lime. What a mess!
Over time I have come to love, and even master, the art of making gnocchi. Like many things, it took time, but in the long run even a fat-fingered fool can twirl dumplings like an authentic nonna.
Gnocchi are steeped in Italian history, having been part of the peninsula’s culinary traditions since pre-Roman times. Originally they were made with a semolina porridge, but after the Spanish brought potatoes back to Europe in the 16th century, the cooks of Florence soon adapted their recipes. Potato gnocchi were lighter, and more flavoursome, than the semolina variety.
It is important to use a waxy potato for gnocchi, as starchy potatoes will become glue-like. Italian chefs favour the Spunta, a variety that is available in Australia, although not in great numbers. For a great Australian gnocchi look out for Kipfler, Bintje, Nicola or Royal Blue.
Making gnocchi is a hands-on exercise, even if it’s a bigger exercise for some!
Gnocchi with wild mushrooms and oregano