With people gathering over food with family and friends to celebrate the holidays, we've asked some New Yorkers to share stories behind favorite recipes. Mirta Rinaldi of Forest Hills, Queens shared a story about her family's connection to gnocchi. Rinaldi is a cooking instructor with the League of Kitchens.
Below is Rinaldi's gnocchi recipe:
GNOCCHI AL PESTO (Potato Dumplings with Pesto)
Recipe courtesy of Mirta Rinaldi and the League of Kitchens
On the 29th of every month, Argentinians eat gnocchi (usually in tomato sauce) for good luck. Every Thursday and Sunday night growing up, Mirta’s mother made a different type of pasta for dinner. Gnocchi with pesto was a favorite. As an adult, Mirta experimented with other gnocchi recipes but was never satisfied. Then she remembered a recipe book her mom made for Mirta’s daughter’s 15 birthday. She pulled it out and was relieved to find the gnocchi recipe. And it worked perfectly. Lots of pine nuts makes the pesto especially buttery.
Pesto:
3 cups fresh basil leaves (about 1 large bunch)
6 tablespoons pine nuts
1 clove garlic
2 heaping tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for storing
Gnocchi:
2 1/3 pound russet potatoes, unpeeled (3 to 4 large potatoes)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 jumbo eggs
2 tablespoons plus
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon ricotta cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
For the pesto: Grind the basil, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor, scraping down the sides. Add the cheese, salt, pepper, and oil. Puree again to combine. Scrape into a jar and pour enough oil over the pesto to cover. Any unused pesto can be stored in the fridge for at least one month (keeping it covered with oil). Makes about 3/4 cup.
For the gnocchi: Put a collapsible metal steamer insert into a large saucepan and add enough water to just come to the bottom of the insert. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Put the potatoes on the insert, cover, and let steam, adjusting the heat so the steam is steady but not raging, until the potatoes are tender and a knife easily pierces the flesh, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the potatoes and let cool just enough to be able to handle them - you want to peel while hot.
Fill a pasta pot (with pasta insert if you have it) with water, salt it well (about 2 tablespoons), cover, and bring to a boil over high heat (this is to cook the gnocchi).
Now here you must work quickly. Rinse out the saucepan, return the potatoes to the pan, and mash them with the butter. Stir in the salt and nutmeg. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. You want it to be a little salty because the flour hasn’t been added yet. Then add the eggs and mix quickly until smooth. Stir in the Parmesan and ricotta. Sprinkle in the flour, a little at a time, working it into the dough with your hands. You’re looking for a soft, but not sticky, dough. You can test a piece in the boiling water; if it falls apart it needs more flour. Sprinkle a little flour the counter or a large silicone mat. Take a quarter of the dough and roll it gently with your hands to about a 1-inch diameter log. Cut at every 1/2 inch with a sharp knife, flicking off the piece so it doesn’t stick to the knife. Then roll and push each gnocchi on the tines of a fork to make ridges, with the short side facing down the tines (this keeps them plump instead of too long). If not cooking right away, keep them on parchment-lined baking sheets in the fridge. Repeat with the remaining dough, in three batches.
Add the gnocchi, in four batches, to the boiling water and cook until they float to the top, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and mix in a couple tablespoons of pesto per batch. Pass extra cheese at the table.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes