Last weekend, Snubnose and I tried our hand at cooking some gnocchi with somewhat mixed results. For some time, we have been tossing around recipe ideas back and forth at each other. I found a lovely recipe for tacos through pinterest (recipe here) but Snubnose these days is all about Italian food, and I was fed up with making variations of pasta and pizza.
We were in this standoff until I found a recipe for making gnocchi on the Foodhall site and convinced Snubnose that it was pasta and she would like it.
So we got going and this is the final result.
Enjoyable gnocchi
I”ll be frank. It looks better than it tastes. Technically it came out okay, but we as a family prefer a lot more spice and vegetables in our food. Since this was the first time I was making it, I stuck close to the Foodhall recipe, and the result was slightly bland.
Snubnose gamely ate her portion declaring it to be delicious. She had to, since she had a major hand in the making of it. She grated the cheese, stirred the sauce, and watched over the boiling pasta, so of course she’s not going to admit she didn’t like the result all that much. Piglet was pretty direct, he immediately and without any qualms spat it out. In the end, Piglet ate (to his delight) Maggi instant noodles.
I have to say though that when stored and served the next day, it was much better. The pasta had nicely mixed in with the sauce and everyone enjoyed the leftovers. That said, I am not going to repeat this recipe without making some changes. If you want a traditional Italian gnocchi, this recipe is fine. However, our taste buds required something a little something extra. This one was a bit too potato-ey and cheesy.
Do you have any interesting gnocchi recipes we can try or do you have any suggestions to tweak this recipe?
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Aw, you and Snubnose are adorable making your gnocchi together. If you do find a way of making more awesome gnocchi, make sure to post about it! I’d love to be able to make excellent gnocchi.
@readingtheend:disqus I don’t know whether she will want to try this out again, but definitely more cooking is on the cards. I am still trying to sell her on Mexican 😀
So funny! I prefer to have lots of spices and vegetables in my dishes too! Everytime, I make anything American or Italian, you can bet there is lot of extra ingredients going into it. I love gnocchi soup but have never tried making it.
Actually I was about to tell you that your gnocchi looks exacyly as it should… but I commiserate about the taste… since I have been trying to get hubby to eat all my variations of pasta which just like piglet he literally spits out 🙁 .
I have tried making gnocchi using squash instead of potato. It gives it a little more flavour. You can also add a bit of rosemary, than serve with butter or garlic butter. It still isn’t full of spices, but the texture is nice.
I am not at all familiar to this dish but will surely give a try to experience the same.
Aw, you and Snubnose are adorable making your gnocchi together. If you do find a way of making more awesome gnocchi, make sure to post about it! I’d love to be able to make excellent gnocchi.
@readingtheend:disqus I don’t know whether she will want to try this out again, but definitely more cooking is on the cards. I am still trying to sell her on Mexican 😀
I made gnocchi dumplings a few weeks ago for the first time. It wasn’t bad. I even took a photo of them in case I ever decide to blog about it.
I’ve only ever tried frozen gnocchi and thought the same! Never tried it again! I’ve wondered if homemade would be better, and now I know!
So funny! I prefer to have lots of spices and vegetables in my dishes too! Everytime, I make anything American or Italian, you can bet there is lot of extra ingredients going into it. I love gnocchi soup but have never tried making it.
@athirac:disqus It’s our taste buds. We can never manage with plain ole marinara. a little something extra is a must 🙂
ooh that looks yummy. I’m a fan of gnocchi It is a more bland type of food though, I agree. So yours probably came out right 🙂
You do have to up the spices a bit or gnocchi can be bland.
@BethFishReads:disqus I realized that the hard way 🙂
Actually I was about to tell you that your gnocchi looks exacyly as it should… but I commiserate about the taste… since I have been trying to get hubby to eat all my variations of pasta which just like piglet he literally spits out 🙁 .
I have tried making gnocchi using squash instead of potato. It gives it a little more flavour. You can also add a bit of rosemary, than serve with butter or garlic butter. It still isn’t full of spices, but the texture is nice.
@disqus_TYO2upw2ie:disqus that seems a better idea for making gnocchi. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂