Little pumpkin parcels of delight

Transcendent

Light, fluffy sweet potato gnocchi is heaven on a plate

Little pumpkin parcels of delight

Emperor D has been on a bit of a carb war lately. Several months ago, he went off refined white pasta and rice, switching - at first - to brown pasta and rice, and now he's gone a step further and cut rice out completely. Because I flatly refuse to give up pasta, he's stuck with the wholemeal stuff, at least. I haven't followed his lead, however - being too much of a lover of white pasta and disliking brown rice - so occasionally it causes a bit of tension at dinner, especially now there's always an extra pot to wash up (or try to fit in the dishwasher). 

Little parcels of  light pumpkin deliciousness

After making the ravioli with the pasta maker a few weeks ago, I decided not long after it was time to give gnocchi another shot. Usually, Emperor D is the one who makes gnocchi, seeming to have a natural gift for it. But having received a gnocchi board from my mum for Christmas (along with the ravioli cutters I'd used the week before), and having brought my potato ricer from home two years earlier but yet to use it, I decided it was time I gave it a try again.

With Emperor D reluctant to have a white potato gnocchi, I decided to try a lower carb version in a sweet potato gnocchi. I found a few good recipes through a google search, but ultimately went with the recipe found on American chef and food blogger Kelly Senyei's website, Just a Taste.

The recipe looked simple and easy to make, but I usually have an aversion to ricotta. I figured the sweetness of the sweet potato would balance it out, so decided to go with the recipe as it was listed. 

I'm glad I did. Not having a microwave - an occasional lament that I soon get over - I decided to steam the sweet potato using my rice cooker. They were a little underdone, meaning the middle of each was still quite hard, so I had to leave a little bit of each out. After passing the potato through the ricer, and mixing with the ricotta, I added as little flour as I could get away with, in order not to make them too dense and heavy. 

One word: yum!

Being left with a ball of soft, and just a little sticky, dough, it's simply a matter of rolling them out into long sausages and cutting them up into little parcels of gnocchi. Finally, I give my gnocchi board a go, and gently roll each one down it, leaving slight indentations on the outside and a small dent to finish, to make sure the shape can catch as much of the sauce as possible. 

After quickly boiling the gnocchi and making the burnt butter with sage leaves and balsamic sauce, it's time to plate up and eat. I had invited a couple of friends who are also on a low-carb kick, given there was plenty of gnocchi for four people. It went down a treat. Little pumpkin parcels of delight. The light, slightly sweet gnocchi was perfectly matched with the nutty flavour of the burnt butter and the tang of the balsamic in the sauce they were tossed through. It was easy to go back for seconds, yet as it's lighter than traditional gnocchi, it left me feeling satisfied, but not uncomfortably heavy or over-full. 

This is a easily a recipe that will go into my repertoire for those weekends spent cooking in. Can't wait to make it again! 

Sauces galore

Tragedy

Don’t blame this cheesy disaster on the recipe though – it’s my fault

Triumph

Greeks provide a tasty zing to lamb cutlets

Sauces galore

So I’m having a slightly lazy week this week when it comes to cooking. Some weeks I just don’t feel very inventive. This week I decided to use sauces as an example of how to provide a bit of jazz to ordinary food. First was gnocchi with creamy Castello and spinach. Castello is a type of soft, cow’s milk cheese. It comes in a blue variety, but I’m not a fan of blue cheeses, so I use the white variety, which has a mild, subtle taste.

Gnocchi with creamy Castello and spinach

I won’t say where exactly this recipe is from, as it’s actually from a local guy who runs food classes. The food class I attended was great, and so is this recipe usually, so I don’t think it’s fair to name the chef given the poor rating is based on my mistake. I’ve provided the recipe on how to make the gnocchi as well, but wanting dinner to be quick, this time I simply used good quality homemade gnocchi from my local Italian grocer. I have made gnocchi before, but for me it was a bit of a disaster. I’ll readily concede that Emperor D has the upper hand here, expertly making gnocchi a couple of times.

But back to the sauce; it was tragic. It’s actually my fault though. I’ve made this a couple of times before and it’s usually pretty good. This time I think I over seasoned it. It was very salty; I seasoned with salt once the cheese had melted, and then again when the dish was complete, just before serving. Add to that the pecorino I use has a slightly salty taste to it, and the whole thing was salty to the point of being almost unbearable. I couldn’t finish it.

Seriously though, I hope you give this a shot and do better justice to it than I did this time around. It’s ridiculously easy and super quick (well, if you’re using store-bought gnocchi); you can plate this up in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the gnocchi.

Lamb cutlets that have been marinated in Greek marinade

I had much better luck with Greek marinade on my frenched lamb cutlets. I can’t tell you where I got this recipe from either, simply because I don’t remember. But this is a great, simple marinade recipe with some fantastic, zingy flavours. The rosemary, thyme, and oregano work really well with the garlic and olive oil, and of course the lemon gives it that amazing Greek tang that I love.

Try and marinate meats for at least 30 minutes before cooking; and of course, there’s no need to add extra oil to the fry pan or barbeque. You’ll add more flavour during the cooking process if you baste with the leftover marinade using a pastry brush or baster. I’ve only ever tried this with lamb – as Greek marinade seems to cry out for lamb – but give it a try with chicken as well.

Lastly, just some advance notice that I may not be posting as often over the next couple of months. Christmas is a busy time anyway (although I do hope to post a few recipes I plan on making over Christmas), but it will be even busier for Emperor D and I as we pack up our house and move overseas. I’ve been fortunate enough to score an amazing job opportunity in Geneva, Switzerland, where I’ll be headed very soon after New Year. I’m really looking forward to posting from Geneva – no doubt I’ll have to try some Swiss recipes. Fondue, anyone?