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How to Make Gnocchi with Christian Hermsdorf
By Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith
Successful gnocchi-making requires some attention to detail. And successful gnocchi-maker Christian Hermsdorf, chef de cuisine at Bar Bambino, wants to share some of the details. First, the don’ts: Don’t peel the potatoes, don’t use too much flour, and don’t overcook. And the all-important dos: Peel your potatoes when warm, use a ricer for maximum fluffiness, mix the dough only until it binds, be gentle with the gnocchi, and serve with a simple topping like brown butter and sage.
Oh boy, if only I had seen this yesterday... I set out to make a large batch this morning, and had the not so bright idea to put my potatoes into my magimix to get them nice and fluffy. After all it would be a lot faster than a ricer... what happened is that I wound up with a bunch of goop :( I should have turned it into potato soup or something, but I tried to salvage it with some flour (almost...+READ
Oh boy, if only I had seen this yesterday... I set out to make a large batch this morning, and had the not so bright idea to put my potatoes into my magimix to get them nice and fluffy. After all it would be a lot faster than a ricer... what happened is that I wound up with a bunch of goop :( I should have turned it into potato soup or something, but I tried to salvage it with some flour (almost a kilo) and those little abominations I created were dense and awful and nothing like gnocchi. The good news is that my Gorgonzola sauce was amazing and the kids loved them, so what can I say, at least I learned a valuable lesson and the next batch will be a lot better.-COLLAPSE
Wonderful. It's about time that someone shows the public how to make this dish.
The commenters above me make many great additions to suit various styles.
To go even LIGHTER, I say no eggs, icebath+reheat...that's so restaurants can handle the dish. Instead, super light flour, a pinch of parmesan and truffle, take from boiling water to a plate of oil or sauce with fresh cheese and herbs on top.
Rather than boiling the potato, you should bake them whole, till fork tender, cut them in half, let them rest 5min, then follow the rest of the recipe. Cook them a little less and skip the ice bath, instead, spread them out on a cookie sheet and cool them on the counter or in the refrigerator. That's how any Italian Restaurant Chef would do it!
I just came across this video and let me say it looks wonderful. I really want to try that. And that's a great idea re the ricer, laurenff. I put my mashed potatoes through a ricer, and now I will not have to peel my potatoes. The bad thing is now I will make mashed potatoes even more often!
If you want to go a step or two further.. at my restaurant we bake the whole potatoes until theyre done.. and when we put them through a food mill, we do it onto sheetpans so there is a small single layer as opposed to a large bowl or something.. then we dont work it at all until the potato is chilled. Just some other things you might consider to keep them nice and dry and airy.
Excellent video. Well done!
@chowess: in the sauce, if it's something that's somewhat liquid. Gorgonzola might become a mess in a pan, so perhaps a touch of broth that would complement the gorgonzola?
I never heard of putting gnocchi in ice water after cooked but I see the point of preventing them from overcooking. Is this strictly necessary and if so, what is a good way to warm them up if I want to serve them with a simple tomato or gorgonzola sauce?
Using the tines of a fork is a great way to get the potato broken up without mashing it. I've never boiled the potato before though, always steamed them. I've never used an egg either, I hear it's lighter the way I've been doing it but I'll have to try it now to compare.
@parsnap I think you can grate them. try peeling half of it and then grating that half and holding on to the part with skin. that's what I did until I had a ricer.
The end result in this video makes what to make gnocchi tonight!!!
how do you do it without a ricer?
Instead of trying to peel hot potatoes, cut them in half and place cut side down in your ricer's tube. Now squeeze - and - ta da. The potatoes rice as usual and the skin is left inside.
sexy. thank you. also i didn't know how to pronounce it so that helps!