Gnocchi alla Sorrentina recipe

The secret to gnocchi alla Sorrentina is the tomatoes that grow in the area, the local mozzarella and the indigenous fresh basil. That's why even the greatest chefs are never able to reproduce the true recipe elsewhere, without the original ingredients.

Image © incucinaconpeppa

I will nonetheless tell you how I saw it being made here, in its homeland. We began by assembling the ingredients to make the gnocchi:

1 kg (2 lbs) russet potatoes
300 g (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Boil the unpeeled potatoes 30-40 minutes (according to potato size) in lightly salted water. Let them cool a bit then peel and mash them with a hand-powered mill or a ricer into a bowl.

Let the mashed potatoes cool off a bit more, sift the flour over them, and mix it in with a wooden spoon. Pour the potato/flour mixture over a board dusted with flour and knead briefly as you would any other pasta dough.

Note: Over kneading may make the dough tougher, so keep it to the minimum to obtain a uniform consistency, dusting extra flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the work surface.

Cut a fist-size piece and roll it into sausage-like cords about 3/4" in diameter and use a knife to cut each into 3/4" buttons. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each piece. This can be achieved with the help of the back of a cheese grater or the tines of a fork, and it gives gnocchi a rough surface in which the sauce finds refuge. As you produce the gnocchi, moves them on a plate and keep going, fistful after fistful, until all the dough is used up.

Gnocchi by Marie Asselin - foodnouveau.com 

Technically all this can be done in advance, but it is better not to let too much time pass between the making and the cooking. While you’re cutting the gnocchi, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Once all the gnocchi are ready, toss a dozen of them into the water and wait until they all surface. This takes less than 2 minutes, so it is important that your attention does not wander. Use a skimmer (or a slotted spoon) to fish the floating gnocchi out of the pot and place them in a bowl covered with a tight lid so the gnocchi keep warm. Repeat the casting-fishing routine until all gnocchi are cooked.

Next we prepare the Sorrentina sauce. Be prepared to meet taste bud euphoria. This is Italian food history happening before your eyes, so a toast is in order. Uncork the wine, please.

400 g (2 cups) ripe heirloom tomatoes
1 large mozzarella (weighing about 1/2 lb) or Provola cheese, which is a local smoked mozzarella
Parmigiano, grated
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled
A bunch of fresh basil

Save 2 and blanch the rest of the tomatoes in 1 inch of water and a drizzle of olive oil for about 20 minutes. Peel them, remove the seeds and crush them through a food mill.

While you preheat the oven at 150° C (300° F) you can begin to sauté the garlic and half the basil in 3 tablespoons of olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the pureed tomatoes and cook over a medium flame for about 10 minutes.

Coarsely chop the mozzarella (or provola) and the 2 whole raw tomatoes. Next we prepare 4 terrines (glazed and preferably earthenware) or a single deep oven dish with a few tablespoons of sauce, a few chunks of chopped mozzarella and raw tomatoes. Cover with some boiled gnocchi, cover with more sauce, more chopped mozzarella and raw diced tomatoes, torn basil leaves and a generous dust of grated Parmigiano, building layers to the top.

Pop in the hot oven and heat through until a crispy crust forms on the top and the cheese has melted.

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina demand to be eaten piping hot, so if you're serving them in the earthenware terrines, consume them directly out of those, minding that you don’t burn your tongue in a mad devouring rush.

The best wine to pair this dish with is a dry white, like a Chardonnay or a glorious Greco di Tufo.

Buon appetito!

Waving at you from Sorrento

Here we are. See us? The ones over there smiling, frosted wine glass in hand, gawp expression... feet up?


Yeah, over there on the terrace overlooking the beach. Waving at you from our little fishing village, Marina di Puolo.

Ciao, everyone!

Shrimp and zucchini frittelle recipe

I'm forcing myself to post today. It's like a zen exercise. I'm doing it to keep my brain busy, and to force out all the accumulated suffering I've been absorbing from the earthquake drama since Monday at dawn. The relief machine is picking up momentum, the shakes continue (always stronger at night, I can't make out why) and I go on, counting my blessings and thankful for being here, all in one piece. I crave sleep, but I must be vigil. Needless to say I can't wait for that mini vacation.

The only way I'm able to wind down in the meantime is by cooking. Weird.

And since I've been feeding on comfort broth for the past two days, today I felt like making something totally unwholesome, unPC and deep-fried. I'm sure your livers will all forgive me for that.

Ready for sinful? Read on. And hopefully you'll replete like I have with my debauched shrimp and zucchini frittelle, Italian for fritters.

This 30-minute wonder is perfect antipasto fare. Put a batch of it on a platter along with morsels of ribbony mozzarella in carrozza, some crisp fried zucchini blossoms, a handful of French fries or fried artichoke hearts, and you've got yourself a lovely Frittura Mista; Italian for 'assorted deep-fried goodies.'

200 g (1 cup) medium shrimp tails (shelled and de-veined)
2 zucchini (I like to use the ribbed romanesche), julienned into matchsticks
4 eggs
1 garlic clove, halved
1 tbsp unbleached flour
1 tbsp cornstarch (aka cornflour or Maizena)
100 g (1/2 cup) arugula leaves
100 g (1/2 cup) dandelion greens (save the flowers too, they're edible)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauté the zucchini in a medium-sized frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1/2 clove of garlic. Do this for roughly 2-3 minutes, and then set aside.

In another skillet, sauté the shrimp tails in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the other half clove of garlic. Do this for no more than one minute; fish the shrimp tails out and rest them on a paper towel. Then coarsely chop and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix 1 egg into the flour and cornstarch. Beat in the other eggs one at a time, add the chopped shrimp tails, the prepared squash (or zucchini), adjust seasoning and mix well to blend. Refrigerate for 20 minutes while you uncork the ice-cold vino.

Heat about 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large frying pan, when it is piping hot, drop in 2 or 3 tablespoon-sized dollops of the blend at a time, and fry in small batches for 2-3 minutes on each side. Park the fritters briefly on a paper towel to absorb grease, while you plate the salad bed.

Scatter the arugula and the rest of the greens on a wide platter, dress with a thread of olive oil and your vinegar of choice. Toss and garnish with the fritters and a handful of edible blossoms, like for example dandelions, violets and cowslips. Voilà, frittelle.

♥

Many of you kindly offered solidarity to those dramatically affected by Sunday's earthquake in Abruzzo. In the hours immediately after the first shock, I was unable to provide that information. If you are still interested in contributing, however, here are a few useful places to visit:

National Italian American Foundation: Abruzzo Relief Fund

Red Cross: Donation page

Global Giving Relief and Recovery Fund

Thank you for your touching words of comfort and concern in the past few days. I have treasured them immensely. Much more than you imagine.
Grazie.

Caramelized figs recipe

A treat for the libertine in all of us.

Fichi caramellati, caramelized figs.

It's not fig season yet, I know. But this morning I woke up and jumped out of bed. I had dreamt of making toast, smearing it with ricotta and topping it with this:

Photo courtesy of the dessertedgirl.com

Here's how to make decadent happen:

1 kg (2.2 lbs) fresh, ripe figs (Mission or green), unpeeled
500 g (1.1 lb) sugar
1 glass of balsamic vinegar
2 glasses of water
A splash of dark Cuban rum
Cream

Wash the figs carefully–the skins shouldn't break off–and gently pat them dry. Place them gently in a saucepan large enough to hold them all in one layer.

In a bowl, melt the sugar in the vinegar and cover the figs with it, add the water and gently simmer until the liquid becomes thick and syrupy, and the figs fall apart. This could take up to 1 hour (depending on stove power and fig tenderness, the riper the figs, the better the outcome).

Spoon the glazed, jammy compote in Martini glasses or champagne flutes, splash with some rum and a dollop of fresh cream. Or ricotta…

Note: This recipe has been updated and improved in 9/2010 thanks to Saskia's kind contribution.

Limoncello recipe

I thought we could celebrate the advent of this sunny spring weekend with Italy's most famous after dinner liqueur. I like mine tart, zesty, not too sugary, ice-cold and dreamy.

The homemade kind is always a million times better than the bottled, so here's the secret to lavish limoncello.

Ingredients will yield 2 quarts of limoncello

9-10 unwaxed large organic lemons - or enough to produce 300 g (10 oz lemon peels)
600 gr (2 ½ cups) sugar
1 lt (4 cups) 95% grade alcohol* (can be substituted with very good quality Russian vodka)
1.2 lt (1 quart + 1 cup) bottled water (not sparkling, I use Evian)

*Grain alcohol (Ethanol) is available at concentrations of 95% alcohol (190 proof) and 75.5% (151 proof). It is illegal to sell the 190-proof variety in some states of the U.S., including California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. In some of these states, the 151-proof variety may be sold. In Canada, it is not sold in Saskatchewan but is available in Alberta. The British, Australian and New Zealand retail policies are, like in Europe, quite lenient as far as ethanol is concerned.

Soak lemons in tap water and baking soda for 10 minutes. 

Rinse well several times and pat dry. Peel the lemons as closely as you can, using a curved paring knife to remove any white sponge-like pith, which is too bitter and can spoil the outcome. 

Use the peel for this recipe and save the lemons for granita, juice or other applications. For limoncello, all you need is the skin of the fruit.

Soak the lemon peels in a large tightly closed glass or ceramic carafe or tall jar with the alcohol to macerate for 7 days in a cool, dry place. The rinds will become brittle through this procedure, extracting all their fabulous essence into the spirit.

On the final day, in a large stewpot, bring the bottled water with the sugar to a boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved, cover and remove the pot from the stove and allow your syrup to cool to room temperature.

Strain the alcohol with a tight mesh gauze or double cheesecloth, discard the peels and pour the filtered alcohol in the syrup in one single, steady splash. This will ensure opacity to the blend. Proper limoncello should not be clear, rather cloudy and bright pale yellow in color.

Transfer the resulting liqueur in individual glass bottles (makes about 2 liters, or a half gallon). Close each firmly with a natural cork stopper and wait until completely cool before storing in the freezer. On each bottle proudly apply a handwritten label that reads "limoncello made by me." 

Serve chilled in small shot glasses and pat yourself on the back.