Wolf's Den

So, last month, I posted about joining The Daring Bakers, with my Dark Chocolate-Green tea Cheesecake.

Well, with this post, I announce that I've also joined The Daring Cooks!



The Daring Cooks is a new group, affiliated with the Daring Bakers, and also resides at The Daring Kitchen. This is the very first Daring Cooks Monthly Challenge, EVER. WooHoo! Party time!

So for this Challenge, CreamPuffs in Venice and La Mia Cucina, the Founders of The Daring Kitchen, chose a recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi.

Well, what a way to inagurate the Daring Cooks, let me tell ya. I'd never made Gnocchi, let alone even eaten it. Yes, yes, I know, where the devil have I been, in a cave?

I've always wanted to make homemade ricotta though, and guess what this recipe calls for? Go on, guess! }:P



Yes, I got to make ricotta for this recipe! Whee! I've mentioned I'm a tad insane, yes?

Anyway, there were several links to good recipes and howtos for making your own ricotta, one of which, I actually had already stashed in my Favorites folder and that was the one I used.
Eggs on Sunday has a very simple, easy to double recipe. Unless of course, you're me and misread something.




First, I gathered everything I thought I needed to make not only the ricotta, but the actual gnocchi the next day. I like to be prepared, most of the time. First, I got the beef in their marinades.

What? Oh. I forgot to mention that I also smoked out 6lbs of beef the day I made the gnocchi, didn't I? Well, I did. That'll be a separate post.}:P



First, you pour your milk and heavy cream in a large heavy bottom pan. Mine are stainless steel, and I lurves them, yes, yes we do. Although, I wish I had more. But then, I'd need a pot rack to hang from the ceiling and Mark would run into it all the time cause I'm short, he's tall... oh, right, sorry.



To your cream mix, add your salt. Simple, so far, yes? Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Then when you get to the lemon juice, you'll mess up too! Unless you're not me, of course. Heh. Then you most likely won't mess up.}:P



Put that pan on your stove and gradually bring it up to just below a boil, to a nice steady simmer. You don't want to scald your cream/milk. And let me just say, I'm very glad someone elaborated exactly how to scald milk... somewhere, when I read it... cause I didn't know. And the funny thing, my mom didn't know either. Ack! But now I do, and when I go home in August, I can make this for her and she'll know too!



This is the lemon juice. I figured it'd be easier to have it already premeasured. Then all I have to do is have Mark carefully pour it in the hot cream/milk stuffs so I can get a photograph...

HOWEVER. That lemon juice? Was not enough, as per the recipe. Yeah. I screwed up and read TABLESPOONS as TEASPOONS. Whoops. So I had to hurry up and measure it out AGAIn, so it'd be right. Won't make that mistake again, once was enough.



So, like I was saying, pour your lemon juice into the simmering cream/milk stuffs, stirring to thoroughly mix it in. If you're like me, you get your S.O or a teenager to do the pouring so you can photograph it with your niftyneatokeen camera. Have i mentioned that I love my new camera in this post yet? No? well, there ya go.}:P



Let the mix sit for a minute or so, and watch the magic of chemistry (I think? Yes?) in action as the curds separate from the whey. I had giggle fits as this happened, seriously. It was that cool to me. I know, I know, easily amused. Mark thinks so too.

Meanwhile, take your cheesecloth and line a strainer over a bowl with it. I used a double layer.




If you don't take photographs, then carefully pour the mix into the cheesecloth covered strainer. Otherwise, have the hubby do it, so you can get cool action shots! Whee!



Pat it all into the cheesecloth, resist the urge to taste the hot ricotta. No, I did not taste it at this point. that's my story and I'm sticking to it. *attempts to look innocent* Ok, yes, I tasted it. Then I went in the living room and shared a bit with Mark who announced it was delicious and definitely tasted like ricotta go you.

After it cools for a few hours, then tie up the cheesecloth and hang the cheese suspended over a bowl in the fridge for at least 24 hours. You want it as dry as you possibly can get it for the gnocchi. Do whatever you want with the whey. Apparently, some bake with it, and I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time, instead of dumping it down the sink, cause I didn't know. Stupidstupidstupid.


(Recipe doubles EASILY, and you'll need 2 cups for the gnocchi)
Fresh, Homemade Ricotta
From Gourmet, April 2006

The ingredients listed below will make about 1 cup’s worth of ricotta, which is half the original recipe. It doubles easily.

Ingredients
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions
Combine the milk, cream, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Separately, line a colander with cheesecloth and set it in a large bowl. Measure out the lemon juice and set it aside.

Bring the milk mixture to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula to prevent scalding. Once the mixture has reached a steady simmer, add the lemon juice and stir gently with the spatula — quickly, just to blend. Let the mixture sit for about 1 minute, turning down the heat slightly so it stays at a simmer but doesn’t reach a hard, rolling boil. Stir with the spatula after about 1 minute, then let it sit another minute until it looks like most of the liquid has separated into curds and whey.

Drain the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander set over a bowl, and let it drain at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer the ricotta to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 cup.


THE NEXT DAY, WE MAKE GNOCCHI!



Now, the original recipe calls for butter and sage. Well, I used Genovese Basil instead. Hey, I had plenty, it was fresh and well, it'd go to waste otherwise. And man is it good.
So chop whatever herb you use rather well.



Melt your butter in a microwave safe bowl. Then add your chopped herbs. Mix together very well, inhale the lovely scents it produces, restrain yourself from tasting it and set it aside.}:P I did not taste it this time, I swear. But boy did it smell good!




Take out your fresh ricotta and place it in a stainer. I used a plastic spoon to push it through, but you can use whatever works for you. You need to mash all the ricotta through the stainer to break up the large curds. This took a while for me, as it was definitely dry. I think this was the hardest part of the entire thing, honestly. by no means the longest part, but definitely the hardest.



Lightly beat 2 eggs. Now, lightly apparently varies wildly. Hrm. I love those melamine recycled bowls. My mom in law got them for me. Marks hates them, says they're too bright. Oh well, that's why I also have a stainless steel set and a glass set. Hee.



Add the lightly beaten eggs, mix, then add the herbs and melted butter. Mix thoroughly, BUT gently. You want the mixture to stay somewhat fluffy. Man, it smells so good at this point. I also added a bit of garlic powder here too. Yummy.



Add your grated parm-reggiano cheese and mix well again. Resist the urge to taste. No! Don't do it! Bad Wolf! Shame on me!}:P



Doesn't that look... interesting? Hee. It smelled great though, so I had high hopes. Meanwhile, Charlie came over and he and Mark were beating each other up on Killzone 2?3?, and I was running back and forth between the smoker grill and the kitchen, adding applewood chips, yadda, yadda. But that's another, shorter by far post...



In a shallow dish, make a bed of flour. I use KAF's organic artisan flour(usually, but not this time apparently), and I think that may have helped with the overall flavor and texture of my finished gnocchi.





Take roughly a teaspoon full of gnocchi batter?dough? mixture on a tablespoon. Now, here's where I varied from the directions as to forming the gnocchi. Instead of dropping it directly into the flour, coating it, THEN forming it in my hand, I cheated a bit. I used the spoon to form the plump oval, by rolling the bit of mixture back and forth rapidly on the bowl of the spoon. Then, I tipped it off into the flour, and used a fork to gently flip it around and coat it in flour. After that, they got placed on a wax paper covered cookie sheet, while I waited for the small pan of salted water to come to a gentle boil on the stove behind me.



Once the water in the small pan is gently boiling, take 2 'test' gnocchi and carefully plop them in. They'll sink to the bottom and bob back up again. When they do, you wait 2-3 minutes for them to fully cook. When I did these, and the guys taste tested them with me, the general concensus was go 3-4 minutes. But your time will vary, that's why you do test one first! Smart, eh? Kudos to whoever thought of that.}:P




After the test gnocchi are done, use a slotted spoon to remove them and let them cool a moment before cutting them open, tasting, etc. Meanwhile, start your large pan of heavily salted water for the rest. I got roughly 43 gnocchi out of my batch, as you can see. I'm thinking, if I'd been a bit more precise (hahahahahahahahaha! I crack myself up sometimes, really, I do), I'd have gotten more.



Carefully add the rest to the gently boiling by now water, and watch the time. I ended up using a strainer to hold them as I removed them with the slotted spoon prior to plating. It's amazing how quickly 3-4 minutes go by, really it is. In a separate pan, I had (jarred, gasp!) spaghetti sauce (Bertoli Olive Oil and Roasted Garlic, yum) heating up to serve over the gnocchi, and by this time, had pulled the beef off the smoker and it was resting under a tinfoil blanket.



By the time I got to plating, there was rumbles of mutiny from the living room. But isn't that a pretty picture of fresh cooked ricotta gnocchi? I thought so too. The guys could care less, they just wanted to eat.



Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi with olive oil & roasted garlic tomato sauce, served with strawberry mead marinated, applewood smoked beef, and roasted garlic artisan bread.

I thoroughly enjoyed these gnocchi. It was fun to make, and now I want to make more! Some expressed a dislike, saying there was too much of an 'eggy' taste to them, but we didn't notice that. They were very light, yet filling. Delicately flavored with the Genovese Basil and cheeses, and that's what we tasted.

Make again? Most definitely!

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

For the gnocchi:

1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:

8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.

Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.

Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the center of your bowl. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.

Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour. You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi). With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.


Variations: For the gnocchi, you can flavour them however you wish. If you want to experiment by adding something to your gnocchi (i.e., caramelized onion, sundried tomato), feel free to do so. However, be forewarned, ricotta gnocchi are delicate and may not take well to elaborate additions. For the sauce, this is your chance to go nuts. Enjoy yourselves. Surprise us!!!

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.