Homemade gnocchi

I've always wanted to try making gnocchi. Those little delightful potato dumplings look so simple. I've seen them made on tv on several occasions, and I decided the other day to try my hand. It wasn't a resounding success, but I feel like I have something to build on.

Making gnocchi:

I consulted a few different recipes, with varied but simple instructions. Start with:

some potatoes
an egg
some flour (between a cup and 2 cups)
some salt and pepper

I was advised to boil, steam or bake the potatoes, usually accompanied by cautions against the other methods. Some recipes counted the potatoes, others weighed them. Quick question for you, internet chefs: How much is 3 potatoes? How big are these potatoes? A little frustrating, until I realized that I couldn't weigh them anyway, so I was going to have to wing it regardless of the recipe.

I used four medium-sized russet potatoes. The flesh is dry and powdery, excellent to use as flour.

I decided to steam the potatoes, as they wouldn't get as wet and therefore would require less flour. After steaming, I let the potatoes cool, then peeled, chopped and mashed them. I should have let them cool completely, but we were hungry.

I also should have mashed them more, but I'm not sure it made a difference. All the recipes called for the cooked and peeled potatoes to be forced through a potato ricer (how's that for a ridiculous tool?) or vegetable mill. Since I have neither (nor do I know what either are), I simply mashed them up. Les voila.

Add the egg, some salt and pepper, and mix. Then start adding the flour.

I started with one cup of flour, but might have ended up using about two. I was warned off using too much flour (making the gnocchi heavier), so I resisted adding very much. I shouldn't have, it turns out.

I rolled out some dough, cut the tube into pieces, and soon discovered that my dough wasn't dense enough to do anything with. I couldn't press it into a fork to make the traditional gnocchi shape, because it was so soft and just flattened. I think it should be more like biscuit dough than bread dough, maybe.

Cooking gnocchi:

Our first batch went into boiling water, and they quickly floated up, so we took them out as directed, but we should have left them in longer. Flour can't cook in a minute, so we were left eating uncooked balls of dough (with a quick tomato sauce).*

Our next batch we left in longer, and the difference was substantial. They probably cooked for about five minutes, much of that already floating. As above, I think my dough was too light and therefore floated too soon and then wasn't cooked.

* Mario Batali's recipe calls for only a minute... hmmm...

Campagnolo part two: the family-style dinner

Digging in to the pork ragu tagliarini. So tender.

To celebrate my birthday in style, we decided to go to Campagnolo, fine-dining northern Italian, with two friends. When we were there for brunch a short while ago, I noticed that they serve family-style if you want (only for tables of four or six), meaning the kitchen cooks for you for a fixed price, either $30 or $40 per person. Knowing that we would likely spend that much anyway, I thought it would be a fun way to go through their menu.

N and I have been before, but just after it first opened in December 2008 and we couldn't remember what we'd had, and they've changed their menu (no more carne cruda, unfortunately). For a great review of the place when it first opened, see On The Bone, an excellent Vancouver food blog.

Our server (who was excellent and quite friendly) brought us our wine (a wonderful Cusumano Nero d'Avola from Sicily) and some cheese sticks. The wine menu is excellent, and priced better than one might expect given the food prices.

Our antipasti quickly followed: sliced cured meats, tuna crudo (raw albacore), an arugula salad, fried chickpeas, olives with hazelnuts. Delightful. All their cured meats (and sausage) are homemade. The tuna was perfect, and the cured meats were top notch. Top notch, I say.

A pizza was next, with sausage and arugula and parmesan. Excellent. Then the primi. A pork ragu tagliarini that was a joy, every bite so tender, one of the best dishes of the evening. The arlecchino (bow-tie pasta) with fennel sausage and kale was too dry but still quite good. The mushroom risotto was earthy and comforting.

Tender chicken and slightly rubbery halibut.

For secondi we had a nice piece of Polderside chicken, some sliced steak and a piece of halibut. At this point we were quite full, but these dishes didn't impress as much. The steak was very good, the chicken was very rich and tender, but the halibut was overdone. A side order of potatoes was superflous at that point.

Delicious blood orange panna cotta and and slightly odd pineapple cake.

Vanilla panna cotta with blood orange compote and crushed hazelnuts was almost too much after all the rich food. The pineapple cake with Italian meringue didn't seem to fit, but was nice and moist.

Cappuccinos capped off what was the best meal I've had in a long time. I hope to return soon, once we've saved a bit.

Campagnolo

1020 Main St. (just north of the bus station).

604.484.6018

5pm till late seven days a week