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Mar. 2011 - In this Issue: |
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In the world of fresh pasta, gnocchi is one of our favorites - it's simple to prep, boils in a minute, and marries with many sauces, oh, so very well! The little pillows of pasta piled on a plate seem to please everyone, every time.
IN THIS ISSUE, we investigate gnocchi with a classic potato version, and some delicious variations from the book, Pasta Sfoglia. We've uncovered a host of tips for making and enjoying great gnocchi. You'll also find delicious sauces perfect for any pasta! It's all in your kitchen waiting to happen!
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"Tastes Like Chicken" |
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 Plan some fun with a cooking class at Kitchen Window! We have an incredible line-up of topics, menus and instructors. With hundreds of choices, a Kitchen Window cooking class makes a great outing with friends and family, as well as a wonderful date night.
Fundamentals of Gluten Free Cooking - #110323A – Wednesday, March 23 | 6:00 p.m.
Grillmasters: Plank Grilling - #110324B – Thursday, March 24 | 6:00 p.m.
Shop Like a Chef: Great Ciao Tour - #110326A – Saturday, March 26 | 9:00 a.m.
European Cakes, Tortes and Gateau - #110327A – Sunday, March 27 | 10:00 a.m.
Brazilian Spring Dinner - #110329B – Tuesday, March 29 | 6:00 p.m.
View All Cooking Classes You may register for any of our classes any time of day
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Sure, the Minnesota warm-weather season may be short, but at least we know how to appreciate it. We bear up to the subzero weather, make the most of the deep, deep snow, and even tolerate the slush and ice that coat our streets. And why do we do all of this? Because with our thriving agricultural community, Minnesotans are awarded each year with a bountiful harvest of fresh and vibrant spring and summer vegetables (the sun and the green grass aren’t so bad, either).
With local farms and gardens all around us, even the most urban Minnesotan is treated to gorgeous produce during the warm weather season. And with a CSA partnership through Kitchen Window, getting your vegetables from the farm to the table is fast and easy. You purchase a share with our CSA partner and we get you fresh veggies every week. That’s it.
This year, we are so happy to announce a CSA partnership with Chef Brian Storey. You probably know Brian from the Cooking School and store. He’s been one of our chefs for the past 2 years, and has hosted many of our classes and events. Brian is also the owner of The Bistro Farm, where he grows an amazing selection of organic, heirloom vegetables selected specifically for their unique varietals, impressive flavors and culinary value. Brian’s CSA is perfect for couples, small families, and for first-time CSA members.
With a membership in The Bistro Farm CSA, you get weekly half-bushel boxes of fresh vegetables, “free-range” all-you-can-eat salad greens and herbs, and tips on how to cook your vegetables and how to sustain a healthy table (that’s something you don’t get from just any old CSA). Weekly CSA pick-ups will be available at Kitchen Window from June to October. Register now – shares are very limited!
Check out Brian’s farm on his website
www.thebistrofarm.com
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Featured Fresh Pasta Tools |
Pasta always make for the perfect supper -- it's fast to cook, accepts all kinds of accompanying flavors, and changes character with different sauces. Here are a few of our favorites when it's pasta time!
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Knife of the Month - March |
KNIFE OF THE MONTH
Wusthof 4.5" Utility Knife
The Wusthof Classic 4.5 inch Utility Knife is an excellent multipurpose addition to your cutlery collection. Use this knife to clean and peel fruits and veggies, mince herbs or slice shallots and garlic.
Classic 4.5" Utility Knife - Suggested Retail $75 THIS MONTH $49.99
Classic Ikon 4.5" Utility Knife - Suggested Retail $115 THIS MONTH $79.99
Price valid in-store only
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25% Off
Any Potato Ricer
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{THIS COUPON IS VOID}
Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive our next coupon
Limit one coupon per customer number/Email Address and one per household.
Offer expires April 1, 2011
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A rustic style of fresh pasta, gnocchi are small pillows of fresh pasta, small dumplings, boiled to tenderness in just a couple minutes. The dough is assembled by hand, lightly kneaded, formed into ropes, then cut into small pieces. Once cooked, gnocchi provide a charming canvas for all kinds of sauces. |
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 Showcasing classic potato gnocchi, this dish highlights the rustic nature of gnocchi with a hearty, full-bodied sauce. The fresh sauce couldn’t be simpler to make – brown the sausage, add tomatoes and peas, and sprinkle in the diced, smoked mozzarella. The smoked mozzarella was a key component to the final flavor combination – search for it, you’ll be glad you did. |
Recipe from Pasta Sfoglia by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky. Copyright © 2009.
Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ. All rights reserved. |
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RECIPE NOTES: The authors reveal a key secret to great gnocchi; rice the potatoes while they are still warm. They instruct us to allow the potatoes to cool, but rice while still warm. The warmth allows for the best potato texture and some gluten inspiration, yet not so hot as to cook the egg when mixing the dough. |
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COOKING TECHNIQUE: “Ricing” is a preparation step where food is forcibly pushed through small holes. The result is a finer, smoother product than mashing, but not as smooth as pureeing. The typical ricer produces food pieces about the size of a grain of rice, hence the name. Potatoes are often riced to achieve a uniquely smooth consistency. Potatoes should never be mashed or pureed in a food processor; the blade action and speed cuts the potatoes’ starch molecules resulting in a rubbery paste instead of a fluffy texture. Riced potatoes are key to great gnocchi, and perfect mashed potatoes. A ricer also mashes bananas perfectly when making banana bread. |
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The ideal gnocchi holds its shape and ridges, but has a tender texture that nearly melts in your mouth. Proper gluten formation is key to achieving the right consistency when cooked. If there is a trick to great gnocchi, it is achieving the right dough texture (see the Tips below). Don’t be afraid to experiment and practice with the dough. Boil up a few gnocchi and test the result prior to rolling all the dough. With a little practice, you’ll be producing gnocchi like an Italian grandmother.
Making gnocchi is a hands-on experience! Wash your hands and dig into the process. Start in the center by breaking the egg and begin the transformation of these simple ingredients into delicious dough:
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GNOCCHI BOARD
imprints ridgesin gnocchi;
ridges hold sauce better
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MANAGE the formation of glutens in the dough by neither under-kneading, nor over-kneading. Some gluten formation will help the dumplings hold together; too much gluten formation will make for chewy gnocchi. |
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FLOUR and water can be messy whether making gnocchi or bread. plan ahead for easy clean-up. Work on a large cutting board or breadboard. When done, use a bench scraper to scrape up the majority of the residue. |
 
WHEN raking a gnocco (singular form of gnocchi) across a gnocchi board, use a very light touch, just coax the dumpling down the board with your index finger and the lightest of pressure.
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| SOME swear by baking or microwaving potatoes for gnocchi. They assert that the potato meal stays drier and fluffier than boiled potatoes. |
BOIL gnocchi at the last minute, just as everyone is sitting down at the table. The gnocchi are done a minute after they float to the surface of the boiling pot of water. |
YOU don’t have to put ridges in your gnocchi, just cut and boil. Many restaurants are serving gnocchi without ridges these days, so why not you? |
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| STORE freshly made gnocchi in the freezer. Freeze the gnocchi on a jelly roll pan in a single layer. Once frozen, place in a freezer grade zipper bag. When ready to use, allow the gnocchi to thaw in a single layer in the refrigerator. |
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GNOCCHI LORE: Small dumplings star in many ethnic traditions. Certainly, gnocchi hail from Italy, but have immigrated and integrated into the Americas. In fact, a recent article by Katy McLaughlin in the Wall Street Journal entertainingly describes a South American tradition of eating gnocchi on the 29th day of every month.The practice also includes placing money under your dinner plate that night so that it might multiply. Institutionalizing the eating of gnocchi once a month for prosperity’s sake sounds like a good plan! |
| Try pan-frying fresh gnocchi in a little butter instead of boiling in water. The gnocchi are done when surfaces begin to turn golden. Apply one of the sauces included in this newsletter. Or, add a few herbs to the butter, plate, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese on top, and enjoy! |
HUNGRY FOR GNOCCHI NOW? FRESH GNOCCHI IS EASILY FOUND IN VACUUM PACKAGES AT THE GROCERY STORE. EXPERIMENT BY TRYING A VARIETY OF BRANDS UNTIL YOU FIND YOUR FAVORITE. |
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If you’re a fan of gnocchi, you probably love other types of fresh pasta -- we do! With a little practice you can be cranking out fettuccine, linguine, ravioli, bowties, or one of the other million pasta shapes. |
Cook pasta in plenty of salted water. There should be enough water for the pasta to move freely in the boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta. The exact timing will be dependent on the shape, thickness, and quantity of pasta being cooked. |
Turn sheets of fresh pasta into another type of pasta pillow, ravioli. A sheet of fresh pasta is draped over the mold, fillings placed into the mold’s wells, and another sheet of pasta is placed on top. A rolling pin is used to crimp the layers and cut the ravioli on the frame. |
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 Pasta and freshly grated cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly! The classic pasta pairings include hard cheeses like Parmesan and Pecorino. Both add a sharp, salty, tanginess to any pasta dish.There are some very fine domestic Parmesan cheeses, but they all crave to live up to the Italian standard of Parmigiano Reggiano. Only cheese made in designated regions of Italy are allowed to carry the official designation of Parmigiano Reggiano. Made from cow’s milk, it’s considered best at the age of 24-30 months. The tiny crunches sometimes experienced with Parmigiano Reggiano are small crystals of salt from the 20-day brining phase. The flavors are rich and complex, the perfect complement to pasta.
CHEESE TRIVIA: An entire wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano weighs about 84 pounds. |
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We fell in love with this simple sauce! Essentially pistachios, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in an olive oil base – items readily available in our pantry. In a food processor the nuts were chopped and other ingredients added. The sauce was warmed and ready before the pasta water reached a boil. The butternut squash gnocchi had a delicate flavor and a subtle orange color that was deliciously complemented the nut-based sauce. |
Recipe from Pasta Sfoglia by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky. Copyright © 2009. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ. All rights reserved. |
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 foglia“ translates as “an uncut sheet of pasta.” The book’s perfect title implies the same creative moment as the artist’s blank canvas. In fact, the authors’ approach to pasta is as a culinary art form. The book is our new favorite guide to fresh pasta of all kinds. The initial chapters reveal their well-developed master recipes for many pasta doughs including the classics and some contemporary variations such as buckwheat pasta, farro pasta, and others. The following chapters school the reader in how to form the dough into any number of pasta shapes and styles. The remainder of the book is dedicated to dozens of sauce recipes that honor tradition and explore the edges of fresh, seasonal ingredients as integral parts of the pasta presentation. The photography splendidly evokes “fresh” with an old world feel – beautiful enough to belong on a coffee table. We think you’ll take a lot of pleasure in becoming acquainted with the Suhanoskys’ take on pasta. |
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Take pleasure in making some great gnocchi in your own kitchen. The results will reward your efforts!
From all of us at Kitchen Window
Kitchen Window
Calhoun Square - 3001 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-824-4417 -- 888-824-4417
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