Gnocchi with tomato sauce on decorative serving plate
Gnocchi are considered a primo, or first course dish, served in place of pasta. The classic sauce for potato gnocchi is a simple tomato sauce like the one pictured above, but there are many variations to this and my personal favorite is Potato Gnocchi with Mussels and Clams. Potato gnocchi are a kind of dumpling and are truly little pillows of heaven!
Not all gnocchi are made with potatoes: gnocchi refers rather to the shape than the ingredients. It comes from the Italian word nocchio, meaning knot, like a knot in wood.
A few of my other non potato-based gnocchi recipes are Beet and Ricotta Gnocchi with Wilted Arugula & Toasted Walnuts and Broccoli Rabe Gnocchi with a Gorgonzola Sage Sauce.
There's a wonderful expression in the Lazio region of Italy, and more specifically Rome: “Giovedì gnocchi, venerdì pesce e sabato trippa"... “Thursday gnocchi, Friday fish, and Saturday tripe”. This expression dates back to post-World War II and was simply a way of giving special significance to daily meals in times of scarcity.
To this day Roman restaurants always serve gnocchi on Thursday so be sure to look out for them!
Potato Gnocchi are a lot of fun to make and students in my cooking classes love them!
Potato Gnocchi with Mussels and Clams
(Gnocchi di Patate con Sugo di Cozze e Vongole)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the gnocchi:
Potatoes (use any kind other than a baked, mealy variety), 1 kilogram
1 egg
All purpose flour, 400 grams
For the mussels & clams:
Mussels, 1 ½ kilograms
Clams, ¾ kilograms
3 tablespoons olive oil
Tomatoes, canned peeled, ½ kilogram (17 ½ ounces)
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 chili pepper
For the tomato sauce:
Tomatoes, canned peeled, ½ kilogram (17 ½ ounces)
Olive oil, 3 tablespoons
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 chili pepper
Cooking Instructions
To clean the mussels & clams:
Clean mussels by scrubbing with a wire scrubber.
Remove the beard from the mussels.
Place the clams in a cold, saltwater bath that tastes like the sea for an hour to allow the clams to cast off any grit and sand.
Discard any broken or opened mussels and clams.
Rinse the mussels and clams thoroughly.
To cook the mussels and clams:
Sizzle the garlic and chili pepper in a large pot with a small amount of olive oil (about 3
tablespoons).
Add the mussels and clams, cover the pot and cook just until the mussels and clams open up.
Discard unopened mussels and clams.
Remove the mussels and clams from their shells and set aside.
Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
To prepare the tomato mussel sauce:
Sauté the garlic and red pepper in hot olive oil until it begins to sizzle.
Add the tomatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the oil begins to come to the surface.
Add mussels, clams and reserved liquid to tomato sauce.
To prepare the gnocchi:
Boil unpeeled potatoes until just tender - do not over boil.
Drain, peel and put through a potato ricer onto work surface.
Once cool, gently work the egg into the potatoes with your fingertips.
Work about 200 - 300 grams of flour into the potatoes on floured work surface only until it's fully incorporated and it's no longer sticky.
Add additional flour as necessary.
It's important to not over-work the dough.
Gently roll the dough into long thin logs - 1 centimeter (⅓ to ½ inch) - applying as little pressure as possible.
Cut into 1 centimeter (⅓ to ½ inch) long pieces.
Generously dust the gnocchi with flour.
You can use two fingers to gently roll each piece across a gnocchi board so that they have the characteristic ridge.
This is completely optional.
Use a large spatula to lift the gnocchi and gently shake off any excess flour using a large fine mesh sifter.
To cook the gnocchi:
Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until the gnocchi rise to the top.
Remove with a teardrop strainer and place in a warm serving dish where you have already placed some of the sauce.
Gently shake to cover gnocchi with sauce.
Continue until all gnocchi are prepared.
Garnish with parsley and serve the Potato Gnocchi with Mussels and Clams immediately.
Gnocchi can be made ahead and frozen either before or after they are cooked.
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Please note that the below printable recipe can be viewed and printed in either metric or U.S. conventional measurements; just click on your preference within the recipe.
Ingredients
For the gnocchi:
- 1 kg Potatoes use any kind other than a baked potato
- 1 egg
- 400 g All purpose flour
For the mussels & clams:
- 1 ½ kg Mussels
- ¾ kg Clams
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ kg Tomatoes canned peeled
- 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
- 1 chili pepper
For the tomato sauce:
- ½ kg Tomatoes canned peeled
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
- 1 chili pepper
Instructions
To clean the mussels & clams:
- Clean mussels by scrubbing with a wire scrubber.
- Remove the beard from the mussels.
- Place the clams in a cold, saltwater bath that tastes like the sea for an hour to allow the clams to cast off any grit and sand.
- Discard any broken or opened mussels and clams.
- Rinse the mussels and clams thoroughly.
To cook the mussels and clams:
- Sizzle the garlic and chili pepper in a large pot with a small amount of olive oil (about 3
- tablespoons).
- Add the mussels and clams, cover the pot and cook just until the mussels and clams open up.
- Discard unopened mussels and clams.
- Remove the mussels and clams from their shells and set aside.
- Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
To prepare the tomato. mussel and clam sauce:
- Sauté the garlic and red pepper in hot olive oil until it begins to sizzle.
- Add the tomatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the oil begins to come to the surface.
- Add mussels, clams and reserved liquid to tomato sauce.
To prepare the gnocchi:
- Boil unpeeled potatoes until just tender - do not over boil.
- Drain, peel and put through a potato ricer onto work surface.
- Once cool, gently work the egg into the potatoes with your fingertips.
- Work about 200 - 300 grams of flour into the potatoes on floured work surface only until it's fully incorporated and it's no longer sticky.
- Add additional flour as necessary.
- It's important to not over-work the dough.
- Gently roll the dough into long thin logs - 1 centimeter (⅓ to ½ inch) - applying as little pressure as possible.
- Cut into 1 centimeter (⅓ to ½ inch) long pieces.
- Generously dust the gnocchi with flour.
- You can use two fingers to gently roll each piece across a gnocchi board so that they have the characteristic ridge.
- This is completely optional.
- Use a large spatula to lift the gnocchi and gently shake off any excess flour using a large fine mesh sifter.
To cook the gnocchi:
- Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until the gnocchi rise to the top.
- Remove with a teardrop strainer and place in a warm serving dish where you have already placed some of the sauce.
- Gently shake to cover gnocchi with sauce.
- Continue until all gnocchi are prepared.
- Garnish with parsley and serve the Potato Gnocchi with Mussels and Clams immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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