Recipe
15 Sep 2006

Whole Wheat Gnocchi

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gnocchi4

  • 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled
  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Put the potatoes in a pot with the water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes at a strong simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain the water and let the potatoes cool for only a few minutes before you begin to pull the skins off. Discard the potato skins and, while still hot, pass the potatoes through a ricer into a bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, to the riced potatoes and incorporate well. Add the flour in two stages, so you use just enough to bind the potato. Add the second half of the flour (and have some additional flour available, in case it’s necessary) and mix well to form a dough.

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Divide the dough in half, and on a floured work surface, roll the first half of dough into a 1-inch-thick log. Cut the log into 1/2-inch-thick round pieces. Lay the pieces out, and with the back of a fork or your thumb, make an indentation on one side.

Set aside and refrigerate until needed.

Cook them in several quarts of boiling, salted water for 10 to15 seconds. They cook very quickly and are done when they float to the surface.

Yields 4-6 portions.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious, 1997

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Substitutions: Instead of plain old all purpose flour, I used whole wheat flour. And due to the fact that I’m a minimalist in terms of kitchen supplies, instead of a potato ricer I used the combination of fork and diligent astronomer.

Recipe
15 Sep 2006

Vegan Pesto Pasta

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  • 3 cups fresh basil (or 2 cups basil and one cup spinach)
  • 3-4 large cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup walnuts, pine nuts, or raw cashews
  • 1/2 container silken tofu (about 6 ounces)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
  • 1 lb. pasta, cooked according to package directions and rinsed with cool water
  • 1-2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • Additional nuts, to taste

In food processor, chop garlic and nuts until finely minced. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Toss pasta with sauce and tomatoes, and sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Recipe by: Susan Voisin

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Substitutions: I used sliced almonds in place of the other nut suggestions, used Parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast because I’m not vegan, and skipped out on the tomatoes because the Astronomer does not care for the fruit.

Recipe
15 Sep 2006

Fresh Cherry Cobbler with Whole Wheat Biscuits

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cherry cobbler 3

For cherry filling

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 6 cups fresh or frozen pitted tart cherries (about 3 1/2 pints fresh, picked over)
  • 1 tablespoon Frangelico or Di Saronno Amaretto
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

For biscuit topping

  • 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Accompaniment: vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Make filling: In a large heavy saucepan whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add fresh or frozen cherries, liqueur, vanilla, and allspice and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer mixture, stirring, 2 minutes and transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish.

Make topping: Cut butter into pieces. In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. If using a food processor transfer mixture to a bowl. Add milk and vanilla and stir until mixture forms a dough.

Drop topping by rounded tablespoons onto cherry filling (do not completely cover it) and bake in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until topping is golden and cooked through. Transfer cobbler to a rack to cool slightly.

Serve cobbler warm with ice cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Gourmet, July 1997

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Substitutions: For the filling I used only half of the required sugar since these were bing cherries rather than sour cherries, used cinnamon instead of all spice, skipped the liquor all together due to my mormon beliefs. For the biscuits I used whole wheat flour and substituted rolled oats for the cornmeal. I also added in some cinnamon to bring together the cherries with the biscuits.