Gnocchi Time!

Last night we had a guest cook, good company. Our friend Darien came over to experiment with some gluten free gnocchi. We used yet another Flying Apron recipe, that alas we had to alter. I thought that I had buckwheat flour a plenty, but the majority of my stock was infested with little moths of some sort. They were deceased, and now they found a semi final resting place in our compost pile. Darien picked up a buckwheat flour mix at Kroger, but it had soy in it, and Brian cannot do soy. So.... we did a combo of buckwheat flour and some Bob's Redmill gluten free baking mix. Here we go..... I'll call this...

Farewell Friend Gnocchi

5 small to medium sized russet potatoes

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground

3/4 c. buckwheat flour

1/2 c. Bob's Redmill gluten free baking mix (or just use all buckwheat flour)

1/4 c water

Peel and steam potatoes till soft. Mash in bowl, add olive oil, salt and nutmeg... keep mashing.

Slowly add the flour, once it's incorporated add the water, and kneed dough till fully combined. You can add more water to achieve a nice consistency. Liberally flour your work surface using brown rice flour. Divide the dough into 6 portions, roll each portion into a 1/2 inch thick rope. Slice each rope into 1 inch segments and press the top of each segment with a fork. Transfer pieces to a floured plate.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, place an oiled baking sheet in the oven. Place one layer of gnocchi in a steamer and steam about 10 minutes, remove from steamer and place on oiled baking sheet in the warm oven. Repeat this step until all the gnocchi are in the oven. Leave in oven for 6-8 minutes, remove and cover with your sauce of choice, we made a pesto of sorts that was amazing! I'll call it...

If The Garden Could Sing Pistou

3/4 c fresh basil

1/2 c. fresh Italian parsley

2 Tbs fresh thyme

1 Tbs fresh Rosemary

1 Tbs fresh oregano

1 large clove of garlic peeled

1/2 c olive oil

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

sea salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender, puree, add more olive oil if needed. This is a mouth watering sauce, I highly recommend trying it, even with regular pasta and veggies it would be grand.

For dessert we made a Mexican chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing, it was yummy, but thats a story for a different day. Well good times, good friends and another successful meal!