EASY HOMEMADE GNOCCHI, with ANYTHING YOU LIKE

This is a recipe that once tried, you'll come back to over and over again.

1. It's SUPER EASY
2. It makes you feel like an Italian Domestic Goddess
3. It's SUPER CHEAP
4. It's versatile to the point you can pretty much stick anything you like over it. 
5. It's great to make with the kids. 

When Roo was weaning and we were very skint, I made a lot of gnocchi. That was about 9 years ago. We were mad for the stuff, and then I kind of just forgot about it. Well, in the interests of our budget saving, I returned to it last night - and honestly, I can't believe how easy it is and how silly I've been for not making it in several years. 

I had forgotten the simple joy of making dough, cutting it and then watching with child-like fascination as it pops to the top of the boiling water announcing to the world that it's cooked. 

I'm going to give you last night's recipe but at the end of it, I'm going to talk you through some fabulous alternatives. 

Last night I fried mine off in butter - because that is how I really love gnocchi, but very often you don't need to do the frying stage, especially if you're going to do sauce based bakes - more on that later. 

Gnocchi is so versatile, you can do a lot of
different things with it. Last night we had it
with wilted spinach and blue-cheese and
roast tomatoes. It was delicious with salad,
and very man-pleasing LOL. Jonathan
said it was his favourite dish of the week,
and there has been some stiff competition
this week. 

So many recipes and cooking books suggest that Quick and Easy is all people want. This has always frustrated me. There are some days that I actually want to take it SLOW and MINDFUL in the kitchen; when I'm not looking for a chuck it together kind of deal. I want dishes that I can chill out and cook with the kids whilst chattering about school, life and the universe. This is one of those dishes. 

It's a time to put on your pinny and the radio and lose yourself in the simple pleasures of turning basic ingredients into something special, just as if you were a magician. 

This dish will do ANY social occasion from after school children's dinners, to date night, to big family gatherings, to Sunday lunches. 

LEVEL: EASY

COST: £ (per portion, the gnocchi is about 40-50p a portion and then toppings vary) 

VEGETARIAN

TIME: About an 1 hour of lovely relaxing prep. 

INGREDIENTS  (Serves 6)

Basic Gnocchi recipe

1. 4-5 medium potatoes peeled, quartered and boiled until just soft. 
2. 90-100g of flour 
3. 1 egg

Pan Fried in Butter with wilted spinach, blue cheese and warm tomatoes. 

a couple of teaspoons of butter

1 bag of spinach or 2 large bunches from the market

1 palm size piece of blue cheese - gorgonzola or stilton or any other blue cheese

5-6 cherry tomatoes. 

METHOD. 

The dough should just hold
together like this. You'll
feel when it's right in
your hand. 

1. Rice or mash your boiled potatoes until they are fluffy and lump free (I always use a ricer) 
2. Scatter and fold in half the flour into the mashed potatoes 
3. Add the beaten egg and fold
4. Add the rest of the flour. and with your hands, begin to turn the dough over in the bowl. You want to keep the dough as soft as you can but so that it still holds together. You may need to had a small handful of extra flour if you're potatoes were a little bigger. 

NEXT 

They firm up whilst cooking
and go a little heavier and a
little slimy. 

1. Cut the dough into about 6 pieces and using your fingers on a floured board, make it into a small sausage / snake shape. Cutting it into small pieces a little wider than the width of a fork. 
2. In a large pan, bring water up to the boil and turn down to a gentle simmer. Plop your little soft dough balls into the hot water and watch as they sink to the bottom. After a minute or two, they will float to the surface and let you know they are ready. 



Cut them a little wider than
a fork and then press the
fork in - the idea is that
it will trap the sauce and
flavours, as well as making
it look pretty. 

3. Scoop from the surface and put on a plate. Repeat this process until you have used all your dough. 

NEXT - if you're not making a sauce-baked dish (see below for details) 

Fry until golden brown

1. In a frying pan, heat butter and oil until the butter starts to foam. Fry them off in batches (if you add too many, the residual water will make them sweat rather than fry golden brown.) Each batch takes a few minutes and they need a little care so as to keep them golden and not burned. 

2. In the same buttery pan, add your washed spinach and wilt it down. Spread out across the bottom of an oven proof dish and layer up the gnocchi around it, pulling out bits of spinach to make it look pretty. Add crumbled blue cheese and the tomatoes halved. 

3. Warm through in the oven for about 15 minutes. For the purposes of last night, I wanted to serve it with salad so didn't want it piping hot - just warmed, but leave it in for 20-25 if you want it really hot. 

TOP TIP: You can make these in big batches and then keep them in the fridge in a Tupperware box for 3-4 days, just heating them up when and as. 

OPTIONS & IDEAS

SPINACH AND PARMESAN

I split the gnocchi portions and fed the girls with the gnocchi, wilted spinach and parmesan - a drizzle of truffle oil is wonderful on top. 

BAKED TOMATO GNOCCHI

Stop at the boiling stage and place in a casserole dish / oven proof lasagne dish. Add pasta, basil leaves and mozzarella and bake for around 30-40 minutes. 

CREAMY CHICKEN GNOCCHI BAKE

Stop at the boiling stage and make a white cheddar cheese sauce. Add either fried or roasted chicken, asparagus or peas and / or blue cheese and pour over the gnocchi, baking for around 30-40 minutes 

PAN FRIED WITH HOT SMOKED SALMON & HORSERADISH CREAM

Pan fry the gnocchi, place on a warmed plate and flake over hot-smoked salmon or trout. 

3tbsp Mayonaise

1 tbsp Creme Fraiche

1 tsp (to taste) Horseradish

PAN FRIED WITH PRAWNS & SCANDI CREAM & DILL

Pan fry the gnocchi, place on a warmed plate. On the side place the Prawn and Scandi Cream & Dill mix

3tbsp of Mayonnaise

1 tbsp Creme Fraiche

About 2-3 tbsp of finely chopped dill

3 handfuls of small atlantic prawns. 

The options are endless and I look forward to reading some of your favourite combinations in the comments. 

Hot Veggie Burritos

Saturday night is a chance for us to properly veg out (in all ways). It's sofa and t.v dinner and ridiculously light entertainment t.v. But it's great to do that once a week when the rest of the week is so much more structured.

A super economical vegetarian meal, just
perfect for a t.v dinner. 

This week, I decided to cook something spicy and easy that would be perfect for a sofa dinner, and that we could drink alongside our Budweiser Prohibition beer (more on that later.)

We wanted a veggie option being that is part of our 2018 resolution and the idea of Mexican child bean burritos just seemed to hit all the sweet spots. Spicy, cheesy, fun food.

This is great for feeding a crowd on a budget, too. There's something quite joyful about this dish, which maybe comes from the spices.

LEVEL: EASY/MEDIUM
COST: $
VEGETARIAN
TIME: About 1 hour cooking and half an hour prepping.

INGREDIENTS: (serves 4 at two burritos each)
1 medium onion
1 tin of mixed beans
1 tin of kidney beans
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp of oregano
1 tbsp mixed dried herbs.
2tbsp of hot smoked paprika (adjust to preference)
1 tbsp of cayenne (adjust to preference)
1 dried red chilli (omit for preference)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes, blended to a puree
Two handfuls of grated cheese
Fresh red chilli
Sour cream
8 soft tortilla breads

We served ours with sweet potato wedges, just wedged, oiled and baked in the oven with a dash of hot smoked paprika.

AS there was just the two of us, I split the bean mix and froze the other half portion, making it a super time economical meal.


METHOD:

• Sweat off onion in heavy based casserole dish. 
• Add in the oregano, paprika and cayenne and stir until well mixed. 
• Add the tinned beans and stir. 
• Add the tinned tomato puree
• a half pint of veggie stock 
• Cook down until most of the liquid has gone and the bean chilli is looking thick and good for filling approx 30-40 minutes on a medium to low heat. (Stir it occasionally as not to catch on the bottom) 
• Leave to cool a little and then in an oven proof dish, fill the tortillas down the middle, roll them into a wrap and flip onto the ovenproof dish so that the join is underneath. 
• Sprinkle with cheese and fresh chilli rings. 
• Return to oven for about 15-20 minutes until hot and the cheese has melted and started to brown. 

NOTES: We served it with Budweiser prohibition larger /beer - which I'm afraid to say, I took one mouthful and rejected the rest. It put me in mind of old fashioned toilet water. Was far too perfumed and flowery for my taste. Will not be buying again.

BIG ITALIAN COTTAGE PIE

This recipe has arisen because originally on the weekly plan it was meant to be lasagna, however having had pasta the night before, and not being great on too much pasta, I made the snap decision to shake it up a little bit - and I'm so glad I did because my youngest, who is a very selective eater, sat and polished off a full portion and verbalised how much she was enjoying her dinner (not something she does very often) 

In order to stuff in some extra vitamins and goodness, and with the added effect of bulking it out too, I added a bowl of grated veg which cooks down, deepening flavour and adding to that 5 a day goal. 

This dish is an absolute winner for several reasons. 1) It's super economical (6 portions for around £5 less than £1 a portion), 2) It's a crowd-pleaser 3) It's a well balanced (it has hidden veg) and 4) It's super low effort.  

I served it with dark chopped kale because I had half a bunch left over from Sunday lunch and because my children love the stuff, especially when it's been buttered and sprinkled with a little salt. 

LEVEL: EASY

COST: £

MEAT

TIME: 15-20min PREP and 1.5hours cooking

INGREDIENTS: (MAKES 6 PORTIONS)

400g Lean Beef minced meat

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

1 chicken stock cube / gel

1 tin of tomatoes

2 tsp of tomato puree

3 finely chopped sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 carrot

1 courgette

6-7 medium mashing potatoes

Butter

2 tbsp of milk

2 handfuls of grated cheddar cheese

Optionals: I added a 1/4 bottle of old left over red wine being it was in the kitchen and if you've got a little spare budget, red wine is always a nice edition to this dish. I also added a spoonful of pesto from the jar in the fridge. (It keeps for two weeks and is really good to always have one in the fridge as a spoonful here and there really jazzes up dishes)

METHOD: 

• Grate your carrot and courgette into a bowl 
• finely chop your garlic and onion and fry off in the bottom of a heavy casserole pot
• add your minced meat and fry until it has taken some colour.
• Add the bowl of grated vegetables and finely chopped rosemary and cook down
• Add the tin of tomatoes and about half a pint of chicken stock. 
• Leave to simmer on the stove top for about 30-40 minutes until it has cooked right down and the oil is starting to split. It should have taken on a deep red colour and look rich and thick by this point. 
• Set aside and leave to cool and firm up slightly 
• Peel and cut your potatoes and place in a boiling pan until soft. Remove, Strain, return to pan and blast any remaining water off. Add butter, salt, pepper and a tiny splash of milk then mash until fluffy. 
• Spoon over the meat mix and fork until covered. Sprinkle with the cheese and then return to oven to cook for about 20 minutes 

NOTES: If like me, you tend to prep several hours or a day ahead, then it will need about 40-45 minutes to be piping hot. It's a great dish to make on a Sunday whilst cooking your roast, and then set it aside. If there's just the two of you, it can be boxed up and frozen and that's three lots of dinner all ready to go when it's needed.