Easy Tomato-Basil Gnocchi with Rosemary-Olive Oil Sauce

As wonderful as it is when my sons are home from college, there is one disadvantage: there are a lot of things they just don’t like to eat. Now, it’s one thing if someone in your house doesn’t like goat cheese, or juniper berries, or some other semi-exotic ingredient that may be great items but that we all know you can cook scores of things without. I can even live with the fact that one of my sons won’t go near my favorite ingredient, mushrooms. But potatoes? How do you cook without potatoes?


And so, though I miss my sons while they are at school, I was able to console myself by working on something I’d had to put off while they were here: Tomato-Basil Gnocchi with Rosemary Olive Oil Sauce.


Gnocchi (pronounced nyoh-kee) are, of course, tasty little potato dumplings. They’re normally served as a pasta course, though I think they work very well as a side dish.


They are also quite easy to make. The main thing with gnocchi is to limit the amount of moisture that makes its way into the dough; too much moisture can result in either mushy gnocchi (which may be fun to say out loud, but not to eat) or, if you increase the flour to compensate for the moisture, in heavy, unpleasant dumplings. Good gnocchi have a light quality.


Since this recipe includes the somewhat unusual addition of tomato paste into the gnocchi dough, several approaches are taken to address the need to limit moisture:
·         Russet potatoes, which have a moisture content lower than most other potatoes, are used.
·         At two different points in the recipe, the potatoes are set out to let steam off and dry some.
·         The potatoes are baked, not boiled. Baking gives a deeper flavor, and avoids adding more water to the potatoes.


The texture is also controlled here by using a food mill instead of a masher. Mashing is a harsh process that breaks up more of the starch than the food mill does,  resulting in a more starchy dough.


Since these gnocchi are infused with basil and tomato, I opted here for a simple sauce of oil, garlic, rosemary, and a bit of vinegar and salt. Needless to say, feel free to use any sauce you prefer.


This recipe makes 4 servings.


Pierce and bake 2 pounds of russet potatoes in a microwave or for 45-60 minutes in a 400 degree oven until a fork penetrates easily.


While the potatoes are baking, prepare the sauce as follows:



• Warm ¼ cup of olive oil in a pan. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic, and cook for another minute.
• Turn off the heat and add the 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary to the olive oil. Stir for another minute.
• Add ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and stir till combined.
• Cover the pan till ready to serve. (In the photo, you'll note how Willie, the lord of the manor, oversees my work in the kitchen.)


Cut the baked potatoes in half, then cut each half into 1” pieces. (Unpeeled is ok; the food mill will remove the skin.) Place the sliced potatoes on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet for about ten minutes while they give off steam.


Place the cooled potatoes into a ricer or food mill over a bowl. After putting the potatoes through the ricer or food mill, spread the potatoes out again on the parchment or foil lined baking sheet and let dry for another ten minutes.



Place the potatoes in a bowl, and add the following remaining gnocchi ingredients:  1 egg-substitute egg; 2-1/4 cup AP flour; 1 tablespoon dried basil or 2 – 3 tablespoon of fresh chopped basil; ¼ cup tomato paste; ¾ teaspoon kosher salt. Gently mix by hand until combined, then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead only until it is smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes.



Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Working one piece at a time, roll each piece out into a dowel shape about ¾” diameter. Cut the dowel into ½” long pieces. Run each piece along the back of a fork to make grooves. (It may be necessary to dip the fork into flour after everyone one or two gnocchis.) Set the pieces aside, and repeat for the remaining dough portions.


Place the gnocchi in boiling water for 1 – 2 minutes; as the pieces rise to the top, remove them with immediately with a slotted spoon and place in bowl.  (Work in two batches to ensure that the gnocchi have enough room to move in the pot.)


When all the gnocchi have been cooked and are in the bowl, add the sauce, toss to coat, and add ¼ pound of grated or finely chopped Fontina or low-fat  mozzarella cheese. Put the mixture back in the pan and heat until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.
I hope you enjoy these delicious dumplings as much as I did! If you’d like a cookbook-style version of this recipe, just drop me a line, include your e-mail address, and you’ll have it in no time.


See you next week with another easy, tasty recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Cornmeal Crusted Baked Fish, Buttermilk and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Rosemary, and a How-to-Fillet Tutorial Video

As you can tell by the long title, dear readers, there's lots going on this week.


Wanting to use the low-fat buttermilk left after making last week’s Oven Fried Green Tomatoes, a couple of days later I put together a dinner that used it for both freshly-filleted fish and mashed potatoes. So this week, you’re getting not one, not two, but three featured items…


• Cornmeal Crusted Baked Fish
• Buttermilk and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Rosemary, and
• A tutorial video on cutting your own fish fillet for the baked fish recipe!
The photo at right also includes homemade herbed buttermilk biscuits (click here for the recipe) and another favorite side dish, asparagus bundles, gently seasoned asparagus wrapped in glorious bacon (or, in this case, glorious low-fat turkey bacon). The vegetable bundles side dish is from a Paula Deen recipe (using green beans) that you’ll find at
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/green-bean-bundles-recipe/index.html .


So let’s get started!


First, you’re going to need fish fillets. You can buy them, of course, but paying for a package of fish at the supermarket doesn’t make for a very interesting video. And so, for those so inclined, here’s how to fillet your own.




Now that you’ve got your fillets, either by buying some or cutting them yourself, let’s make the rest of dinner. (The recipes below make four servings.) Fish generally cooks fairly quickly, so we’ll do the mashed potatoes first. This recipes uses baked potatoes instead of the usual boiled ones; as with most dishes normally made with boiled potatoes, baking the potatoes gives a deeper flavor that really adds something extra.


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.


Place 4 russet potatoes on a baking sheet and perforate with a fork. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes until a fork penetrates easily.


While the potatoes are baking, prepare the roasted garlic (which has a wonderful sweet, creamy texture useful for many dishes) as follows:


Slice the top off two heads of garlic, leaving the papery skin on. (Slice off enough to expose some of the garlic inside.)


Place the garlic heads on foil. Drizzle with olive oil and ½ teaspoon of white wine vinegar. Wrap the foil around the garlic heads and roast in the oven with the potatoes till lightly browned and soft, about 30 minutes. When done, set aside until needed.


When the potatoes have finished baking, cut into cubes, and put them and the roasted garlic through a food mill and into a bowl. (You can use a masher instead, but the food mill gives a smoother texture that works especially well with the roasted garlic and the buttermilk we’ll be adding in the next step.)


Once the potatoes and garlic are in the bowl, add the ¾ cup of butter substitute, ½ cup low-fat buttermilk, and 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary, and mix till smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Now let’s prepare the fish:


Preheat the oven (or, if you made the potatoes, increase the temperature) to 450 degrees.


Pour ½ cup of low-fat buttermilk into a shallow pan. Put four serving-size fish fillets into the milk and let sit for 15 minutes.
While the fish is resting in the milk, prepare the breading by combine the following coating ingredients in another shallow pan or a sealable plastic bag: ½ cup cornmeal; 1 tablespoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 tablespoon dried parsley; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; and the zest of 1 lemon or orange.
Working one fillet at a time, remove the fillets from the buttermilk and place them in the breading until well coated. Place each coated fillet on an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet.


Bake until the fish is cooked and flaky, about 10-12 minutes, turning them over half way.


To serve, drizzle each filet with a little olive oil and garnish each plate with a lemon wedge.




And that should be plenty for one week!


Drop me a like if you’d like a cookbook-style copy of this recipe. (Be sure to include your e-mail address.) And be sure to visit again next week for another delicious, reduced-fat dish! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)