Potato Gnocchi

Until now, my one and only attempt to make gnocchi was when I was 15. I had never eaten it before and didn’t even know what it looked like. When it came to making the traditional fork impression on each piece, I completely flattened them and so they ended up as flat, sticky, soggy little potato pancakes and something inside me said that they weren’t right. My family ate them anyway, to be polite I’m sure!

All these years, I have been reluctant to attempt them again, almost envisioning a disaster and in this case, I feared, my husband wouldn’t have been as polite as my family were.
Last night, however, I felt ready to face my gnocchi fear head on. I invited my in-laws over for dinner – gnocchi, of course. I decided to try and enjoy the experience of it, imagining myself as an old Italian lady whose hands have rolled millions of gnocchi and could do it with her eyes closed (although mine were open the entire time).

So I made, I conquered and I impressed. The gnocchi had great texture and was the perfect blanket for my napolitana sauce. I decided not to make the fork impression on each piece – I prefer them without as they look less like the kind you buy in the supermarket and more homemade.

I will definitely make these again. With a fresh, homemade pasta sauce it’s the perfect meal and is sure to impress any guest.

Ingredients

1 kg potatoes (Desiree or Nicola)
300 – 325g plain flour
Butter to grease the tray
Salt

Method

Grease a tray with butter, so that the gnocchi don’t stick.
Peel and boil potatoes until soft. Pass them through a potato ricer, straight onto your kitchen counter. Add salt to the potatoes, and with one hand add the flour whilst kneading with the other, until all the flour is incorporated. It should resemble a soft, moist dough.
Divide the ‘dough’ into four, and roll each quarter into a rope about 2 cm thick. Cut into pieces about 3cm long and place on the tray in a single layer. Continue until all the dough is used, and cover the tray with a tea towel until ready to cook.
To cook, bring water to the boil in a big pot and salt the water. Gently add the gnocchi once it rises to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon. Serve with your favourite pasta sauce.

Greek Green Beans

This dish was made for me by an old friend and I fell in love with it instantly. Vegetarian and healthy, it's simple, delicious and extremely versatile. It's one of those dishes that you can make and keep in the fridge for days, picking at it in between meals or as a quick weeknight meal. It's also great as a side dish. It's best served on crusty bread and topped with crumbled feta, and is delicious served cold.

Ingredients
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large potatoes, cut into large chunks and parboiled
1/2 cup olive oil
1 kg green beans, topped
3 tins chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Fry onions and garlic in a little olive oil until transparent (about 4 minutes)
2. Add beans and fry for a few minutes whilst turning to coat in the oil
3. Add tomatoes and enough water to cover beans
4. Add sugar, salt and plenty of pepper, the remainder of the oil and parsley
5. Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes and then add potatoes, and cook for a further 20 minutes with lid off, until cooked through and the sauce evaporates a little.

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

These cupcakes make a great alternative to a birthday cake. Each morsel is a bite of heaven; a dense chocolate cake that sticks to the walls of your mouth and a decadent white chocolate ganache that washes it away. A good mud cake recipe is essential to any collection and I think this is it!

Ingredients

180g unsalted butter
180g dark chocolate
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1/4 cup milk

For Ganache
300g white chocolate
150g double cream

Method

1. line muffin tins with cup cake cases
2. melt butter and chocolate over a double boiler
3. stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat well
4. sift in flour and cocoa and then stir in milk
5. bake at 180 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes (depending on how small the cupcakes are).

To make ganache, melt chocolate and cream over a double boiler until just combined. Leave to cool and them put in the fridge until it becomes thick and dense enough to pipe over the cupcakes (about an hour).

Welcome to My Life as a Cook

I have set up this blog to record my recipes, love of food and lifelong cooking journey. Being a compulsive cookbook/recipe collector, my collection of favourite recipes are slowly taking over my home. My Life as a Cook will be their new home, and I think they'll be happy here. I am pleased to share it all with you and hopefully ignite your passion for food and cooking.

Bon apetite!