I love gnocchi! They can easily replace pasta in any recipe to add a whole new texture to the dish. Unfortunately the ones you buy at grocery stores are quite salty so I set out to make my own. Surfing on the internet I found this Italian man making gnocchi inside his villa. I find he transfers his passion for cooking so well that it makes me want to leave everything behind and just buy a villa in Italy so I can cook all day over a fire. Essentially, I reproduced his gnocchi but with no salt because I was adding bacon to the sauce and sitting them on a bed of eggplant parmesan. Also, just a couple of pointers: when you cut your gnocchi, make sure they size is even and small enough so that they cook thoroughly, a couple of mine were slightly too large.
Ingredients
Gnocchi
1kg potatoes
100g all purpose flour
2 egg yolks
rice flour to roll the gnocchi (I used all purpose flour and they did stick a little but it's no big deal)
Eggplant parmesan
eggplant
olive oil
black pepper
bread crumbs
fresh parmesan aka parmigiano reggiano
Sauce
3 slices bacon, cut up in 1/4-1/2 inch chunks
black pepper
fresh basil, coarsely chopped
Method
1. Preheat oven at 400 F.
2. Peal the potatoes and cut them into cubes. In a large pot, bring the potatoes to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes approx.
3. While the potatoes cook, cut the eggplant in 1/2 inch slices. Starting from the larger side, cut enough for 2-3 slices for each person.
4. On a baking sheet covered with parchement paper, place the slices evenly. Sprinkle the slices with a bit of oil, flavour with black pepper and cover the whole surface of the eggplant with bread crumbs then grated parmesan (put as much as you want). Set aside.
5. When the potatoes are done, drain and pat them dry. Mash them and allow them to cool enough to be handled with your hands.
6. Cook the eggplants for 15 minutes, and broil for 5 minutes until they are crispy on top.
7. The mashed potatoes should be cooler by now so, in a large bowl, mix them with the egg yolk and the flour to make a dough.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you cut your gnocchis.
9. On a clean work surface, sprinkle flour and roll out the potato dough in a long sausage - about 3/4-1 inch in diameter. With a sharp knife cut the dough sausage every 1/2 inch or so to make little gnocchi.
10. For the sauce, on medium heat, drizzle a little oil in a pan and throw your bacon chunks.
11. Your water should be boiling by now, so you can place your gnocchis in the boiling water. Let simmer, when they rise to the top they are cooked - it happens pretty fast.
12. You can then remove the gnocchi from the hot water with a slotted spoon for the water to drain, and place them in your pan since the bacon chunks should be cooked. Season with black pepper and gently mix in the chopped basil, be careful not to break the gnocchis.
13. It's time to plate your meal. Whether you put the eggplant slices on top or below the gnocchi, this meal is delicious. Enjoy!
This made enough for 3-4 portions, depending on your appetite.
