Gluten Free Potato Gnocchi

Photo courtesy of Wikipeadia

Gnocchi are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour and egg, flour, egg, and cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, or similar ingredients.

Like many Italian dishes, there is considerable variation in recipes and names across different regions. For example, the Tuscan malfatti are a sort of flour, ricotta, and spinach gnocchi; the Pugliese cavatielli are flour-based, and so on.

Gnocchi are eaten as a first course (primi piatti), alternatives to soups (minestre), or pasta. They are generally home-made in Italian and diaspora Italian households. They may also be bought fresh from specialty stores. In supermarkets, industrially-produced packaged gnocchi are widely available refrigerated, dried, or frozen. Common accompaniments of gnocchi include tomato sauces, pesto, and melted butter (sometimes fried butter) with cheese.

The word gnocchi may derive from the Italian word nocchio, meaning a knot in wood, or from nocca (meaning knuckle). It has been a traditional Italian pasta type of probably Middle Eastern origin since Roman times. It was introduced by the Roman legions during the enormous expansion of the empire into the countries of the European continent. In the past 2,000 years, each country developed its own specific type of small dumplings, with the ancient gnocchi as their common ancestor. In Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly the oven-baked gnocchi alla romana and Sardinia’s malloreddus (although these do not contain eggs)

The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century. Potato gnocchi are particularly popular in Abruzzo, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Ciociaria and other provinces of Latium; they are best prepared with red potatoes.

Gluten Free Gonocchi

Last week we ran an article about how to make gnocchi. Many visitors commented on the article, but our very good friend in Fargo USA, Becky Ryder, came back with a Gluten Free version. We have been friends with Becky for a long time, and she has advised us on many aspects of living with celiac disease and living gluten free. You can visit her site at Living Gluten Free.com

Becky’s recipe for gluten free gnocchi was developed with the help of her daughter Bryden. “Brynden and I made gluten-free gnocchi about a month ago. We experimented all day and found the perfect combination of flours. Our results were, according to Bryn, indistinguishable from wheat-flour-based gnocchi. It was a great way to spend a Sunday, and we had a delicious supper too!”

This the recipe they developed for gluten free gnocchi.

1 cup cubed potatoes
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup ricotta
3/4 cup oat flour
4 whole eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Prepare as for regular gnocchi. But it is a bit of a touchy-feely process (like making pastry or bread) even if you are careful to use the exact quantities of ingredients and precisely follow the instructions.

Don’t be discouraged. Achieving perfectly sublime gnocchi on the very first try is a little unlikely, but still very much worth the effort. Like matzo balls, another member of the multicultural dumpling family, gnocchi can run the gamut on texture from tender to terribly tough (though if I may offer an opinion, tender gnocchi are certainly far preferable).

So regard it this way: Your first result may not be perfect, but will taste good nonetheless. Subsequent attempts and familiarity with the process will invariably yield deliciously successful gnocchi, as I learned in my recent trial runs at home. Practice and a light touch are paramount. Soon you’ll find that making a batch goes quite quickly, once the potatoes are cooked.

Watch out for more of Becky’s Gluten Free conversions of popular dishes which we non-celiac sufferers take for granted. Becky is now one of our guest chefs specialising in gluten free dishes who will have a regular spot on spanishchef.

Gluten free Recipes with Bill & Sheila

If you require a high quality printout of this article, just click on the printer symbol next to ’Share and enjoy’, and we will do the rest.

Get the best website builder available anywhere –SBI! Click here for more information

Return from gluten free to Home Page

If you want to increase your site popularity and gain thousands of visitors – check out these sites THEY ARE FREE. Spanishchef more than doubled its ‘New Visitors’ last month simply by signing up to these sites: