Winter Squash Gnocchi

[mighty quinn]

i've never made gnocchi before. last night i read over the eGci potato primer and frankly, now i'm a little intimidated. should i just start out with plain gnocchi to test my skills? do i need a ricer or food mill? should i do this this in the privacy of my own kitchen and then use the dog as the taste tester? is butternut squash/acorn squash easier to work with than potato? help meeee...help meee...

[Jensen]

The Spouse usually makes plain potato gnocchi and I've made squash/potato gnocchi. His gnocchi was much better than mine.

I'd go for the plain gnocchi for starters.

[chromedome]

It's all good.

Your gnocchi will be hit-or-miss for a while, anyway, until you get a sense of what they're supposed to feel like on your fingers. If you've got lots of squash, try that. If you've got lots of potatoes, try that.

And then make them every chance you get, until you're happy with them. Flour and potatoes are pretty cheap, after all, and so are squash in season (which they are, now). Go nuts!

[mighty quinn]

thanx for the suggestions. i had a gut that this was something i needed to play with before i served it to other humans. does room temp have any bearing on how the dough will feel? my kitchen tends to get broiling because of the radiator heat. any thoughts on needing a ricer? boil the potatoes or bake them??

[albiston]

thanx for the suggestions. i had a gut that this was something i needed to play with before i served it to other humans. does room temp have any bearing on how the dough will  feel?  my kitchen tends to get broiling because of the radiator heat. any thoughts on needing a ricer? boil the potatoes or bake them??

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The temperature will definitely influence the dough feel, but humidity is even more critical. Don't let this scare you though, as the others have said, try a few times and you'll soon get the feeling of what the dough should look/feel like. As a general guideline I find gnocchi come out best when the dough is still slightly sticky.

Also: I'd add an egg the first times you make potato gnocchi, but once you get those working try without. Egg-less gnocchi, when everything turns right, are a fantastic melt in your mouth dumpling, in a way the egg ones can never be.

I never tried baking the potatoes, always boiled them whole with skin and peeled them afterwards, just the way I was taught in Italy. Could work fine, though it might take much longer. I'd go for a ricer, even the simplest kind (here in Germany about 3-5 $) works great. I've tried other methods but only the ricer keeps the potatoes fluffy as they should be.

have fun!

[mighty quinn]

thanks again for the tips- i guess the reason why the baking thing came to mind was because A. i saw it mentioned in a recipe and B. i thought that it would take out a bit more of the water. i thought that feuchte (sorry about my german language butcheridge) would have a bearing on the process and i live along a river in the southeast us. not so much a factor this time of the year, but in the summer-whew! i should have nice dry conditions this weekend. albiston-what is your experience using squash instead of potatoes. our potatoes here are definitely different than in germany. and potatoes vary so much in consistency. would baking them take out that variable?

[albiston]

albiston-what is your experience using squash instead of potatoes. our potatoes here are definitely different than in germany. and potatoes vary so much in consistency. would baking them take out that variable?

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I never used squash to completely replace potatoes, always kept a little potato there, maybe 20% or so. You can completely replace potatoes, it's just that I never did so I don't know how the dough would feel/work in that situation.

The important thing with potatoes is: the more floury they are, the better. Also old is better than new, because of water content. I've made my best gnocchi ever usuing Irish potatoes in the UK, so, as long as you find good floury stuff, you can get great gnocchi with any sort of potato. The baking makes sense and I'll give it a try next time, it's always fun to try new methods out.

[CMN]

We've made buttersquash gnocchi before, same method as using potatoes. If you bake them, you shouldn't have too much problem with moisture, but we've found that a bit of extra flour does the trick with boiled potatoes/squash. We don't use a ricer--just mashed and mixed. You just need to develop a "feel" of the texture you're looking for. They're especially good with a brown butter-sage sauce.

If you have extra squash, I say go for it. I don't find either (potatoes or squash) necessarily easier than the other.

[Kevin72]

thanks again for the tips- i guess the reason why the baking thing came to mind was because A. i saw it mentioned in a recipe and B. i thought that it would take out a bit more of the water. i thought that feuchte (sorry about my german language butcheridge) would have a bearing on the process and i live along a river in the southeast us. not so much a factor this time of the year, but in the summer-whew! i should have nice dry conditions this weekend. albiston-what is your experience using squash instead of potatoes. our potatoes here are definitely different than in germany. and potatoes vary so much in consistency. would baking them take out that variable?

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I do bake my potatoes for gnocchi and then use egg as a binder. I've never had the courage to try without egg. Sweet potatoes are another option; they turn out really well.

[Stone]

I've made butternut squash gnocchi a bunch of times. I got the recipe from either Lydia or the other Italian lady. I believe the basic dough was flour and mashed squash with a few amoretti crumbled in. If I can dig it up, I'll post it. Surprisingly easy and shockingly good. I usually serve it with a light butter/sage sauce.

[Busboy]

Go to a bookstore (or look in your kitchen) and copy the recipe from Keller's French Laundry Cookbook. Oh, hell, just buy the book if you don't have it, it's incredible.

Anyway, Keller's is the only recipe I have ever used and they have turned our deliriously good every time -- which I credit to Keller, not to my own modest skills. In fact, I never order gnocchis out any more, because even the best restaurants can't compete with gnocchis that you've rolled out yourself 30 minutes before boiling.

Keller, btw, bakes baking potatoes and used egg to bind. The resulting gnocchis are light as clouds. When rolling them out, I look for a texture roughly the same as Play-do "lite".

[Mjx]

Has anyone kept notes on the effects of varying the amounts of egg (whole/whites) used?

I'm planning on making some hokkaido squash gnocchi, but since I have a rough time with wheat flour, was planning on using rice/chestnut flour instead, and I have a hunch that I'll need to compensate by adding more eggs, or at least more egg whites, to keep them from falling apart, but don't want to overdo it.

Anyone have some experience with something like this?

Thanks,

M.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I do, Mjx. I don't use chestnut/rice, but with quinua/gold pea it takes a whole extra egg white to bind them properly. I'd expect to see the same thing with other non-gluten flour combos.

[Mjx]

I do, Mjx. I don't use chestnut/rice, but with quinua/gold pea it takes a whole extra egg white to bind them properly. I'd expect to see the same thing with other non-gluten flour combos.

Thanks for that tip, which I used when I made the hokkaido gnocchi last night. The result was fantastic, and they held together beautifully.

[glepore]

I "bake" my potatoes by microwaving peeled potatoes in a bag-they effectively steam, so they're midway between boiled and baked. I prefer to use a ricer. A little ricotta help with the texture. Sweet potato or squash will work, so does spinach if its dried after cooking, all a matter of getting the texture.

Your first tries will likely be heavy but edible, but you'll get the knack-using a floured surface to roll them out is key, I like floured marble when I feel like dragging out the slab I keep for that and pie crust.