![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Here I am, about to carve one of the chickens I made for Christmas. I'm not going to tell you how to roast one, because I'm no expert. The stuffing recipe from Thanksgiving was pretty good, though, even without the chestnuts. Anyway, I apologize for the very long break, but the prospectus is now finished, and my cold has since disappeared, so I can finally spend my time writing more pleasurable things. I promised you a few recipes a while back, so I’ll stop being such a tease and post already. All of these are fairly quick and easy, as long as someone else offers to do the dishes…
Peasant gnocchi with pesto sauce
I call this peasant gnocchi because the recipe is based on leftover mashed potatoes. My father taught me this one over Christmas break, and we managed to stretch seven or eight servings of mashed potatoes into a plentiful meal for 15, without all that much work. The dish is delicious, and can be served with a simple side salad. The proportions are not exact, and you will have to have some idea of what bread dough feels like to know how much flour to add. I’ll do my best to describe the texture for beginners, though.
Gnocchi:
3-4 servings of leftover mashed potatoes (preferably made with Yukon gold potatoes)
1 egg
all purpose flour
Make a well in the mashed potatoes, and crack the egg into the crevice. Mix until well combined; then add ½ c. flour. Mix again, add ¼ c. flour, and repeat until a slightly sticky but firm dough forms (you may need to use your hands to combine the mixture after a while). Form the dough into a ball, and turn out onto a well-floured surface. Separate the dough into four or five equal pieces, and shape each piece into a thin cylinder. The diameter of the cylinder should be about 2 cm. Flatten half of the cylinder slightly by pressing fork tongs into the dough along the cylinder’s length, then slice into little disks, each about 1 cm wide. Coat each disk with flour. Once all the dough is prepared, toss them all into a large pot of boiling, salted water, and cook, stirring occasionally. Once all the cylinders float to the top of the pot, drain and mix with the sauce of choice. Serve immediately.
Serves 5-6.
Pesto sauce:
1 bunch basil (~2 c.)
8-10 cloves garlic (or to taste)
½ c. pinenuts (optional)
½ c. parmesan cheese
~¾ c. olive oil
Place all ingredients in blender, and blend until well combined. Add more oil, if necessary, to get the mixture to blend into a paste. Taste and adjust proportions. Toss with gnocchi and serve immediately.
Serves 5-6.
Vegetarian Yorkshire pudding
These are kind of oily, but in that good, special occasion way. It's a good way to make Yorkshire pudding without the roast, though I don't know how authentic it is. Regardless, enjoy! This recipe makes about 16 individual puddings, and was adapted from the herbed Yorkshire pudding recipe from www.epicurious.com.
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. pesto (recipe above)
olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium bowl until well-combined. Sift flour and salt into the egg mix and blend until smooth. Mix pesto into the dough until the batter takes on a uniform, light green tinge. Let batter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. When your oven is hot enough, preheat 16 muffin cups in the oven; then put 1 T. olive oil in each cup and heat for 8-10 more minutes. Remove the tins from the oven, spoon two tablespoons of batter in each, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the edges of the puddings have puffed up and the center has a nice little pool of oil. Serve as quickly as possible.
Peasant gnocchi with pesto sauce
I call this peasant gnocchi because the recipe is based on leftover mashed potatoes. My father taught me this one over Christmas break, and we managed to stretch seven or eight servings of mashed potatoes into a plentiful meal for 15, without all that much work. The dish is delicious, and can be served with a simple side salad. The proportions are not exact, and you will have to have some idea of what bread dough feels like to know how much flour to add. I’ll do my best to describe the texture for beginners, though.
Gnocchi:
3-4 servings of leftover mashed potatoes (preferably made with Yukon gold potatoes)
1 egg
all purpose flour
Make a well in the mashed potatoes, and crack the egg into the crevice. Mix until well combined; then add ½ c. flour. Mix again, add ¼ c. flour, and repeat until a slightly sticky but firm dough forms (you may need to use your hands to combine the mixture after a while). Form the dough into a ball, and turn out onto a well-floured surface. Separate the dough into four or five equal pieces, and shape each piece into a thin cylinder. The diameter of the cylinder should be about 2 cm. Flatten half of the cylinder slightly by pressing fork tongs into the dough along the cylinder’s length, then slice into little disks, each about 1 cm wide. Coat each disk with flour. Once all the dough is prepared, toss them all into a large pot of boiling, salted water, and cook, stirring occasionally. Once all the cylinders float to the top of the pot, drain and mix with the sauce of choice. Serve immediately.
Serves 5-6.
Pesto sauce:
1 bunch basil (~2 c.)
8-10 cloves garlic (or to taste)
½ c. pinenuts (optional)
½ c. parmesan cheese
~¾ c. olive oil
Place all ingredients in blender, and blend until well combined. Add more oil, if necessary, to get the mixture to blend into a paste. Taste and adjust proportions. Toss with gnocchi and serve immediately.
Serves 5-6.
Vegetarian Yorkshire pudding
These are kind of oily, but in that good, special occasion way. It's a good way to make Yorkshire pudding without the roast, though I don't know how authentic it is. Regardless, enjoy! This recipe makes about 16 individual puddings, and was adapted from the herbed Yorkshire pudding recipe from www.epicurious.com.
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. pesto (recipe above)
olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium bowl until well-combined. Sift flour and salt into the egg mix and blend until smooth. Mix pesto into the dough until the batter takes on a uniform, light green tinge. Let batter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. When your oven is hot enough, preheat 16 muffin cups in the oven; then put 1 T. olive oil in each cup and heat for 8-10 more minutes. Remove the tins from the oven, spoon two tablespoons of batter in each, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the edges of the puddings have puffed up and the center has a nice little pool of oil. Serve as quickly as possible.
cheerful