In 2015 my parents visited and left behind a big bag of instant potatoes. After two years of not knowing what to do with the foul stuff – the plan to make mountain gnocchi was conceived.
ingredienti (serves 2)
gnocchi
- 100g instant mashed potatoes
- 150g white flour
- pinch of salt
sauce
- 2 tablespoons onion flakes
- 3 tablespoons tomato powder
- 3 teaspoons garlic flakes (if you love garlic)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- salt & pepper
top with parmesan flakes
metodo
- it could be a good idea to look up how to make gnocchi first – though i didnt bother and they turned out delicious.
Make the mashed potato. Add less water so they’re slightly on the dry side. They absolutely can’t be soggy.
Add the flour bit by bit to the mashed potato, while mixing.
As the mixture becomes a dough, knead it instead. The mixture will keep taking flour for a surprisingly long time. Don’t use all your flour as you need a couple of handfuls later.
Knead it for 5 mins. Once its a nice non-sticky ball put it down and admire it for a while
Break the ball into pieces and roll them into long fat snakes. The snakes should be 2-3 cm in diameter and as long as possible – although the length is just for rolling prestige.
Dust a surface – eg shovel, rock, paddle, ski – with flour and lie the snakes on top.
Chop the snakes into 1cm long cylinders – gnocchi coins. One by one roll the coins across a fork to make a dimpley gnocchi. If you’ve never done this before consider watching this video – fast forward to 3:40 where he shows this process.
Chuck each completed gnocchi into a floured bowl and shake often to make sure the gnocchi are floured well and not sticking to each other.
You can see our gnocchi has lost its dimpled shape a bit, the dough acted elastically like this because we didn’t bring quite enough flour.
Make the sauce, flake the cheese. Do a gnocchi dance to keep warm. I used the edges of my skis to scrape the residue dough off my hands.
Throw the gnocchi in boiling water. When they float they are cooked and ready to slide down your gullet.
Mouthwatering.
Did you know
In Argentina, the 29th of every month is “Dia de Ñoquis” – gnocchi day. And everyone eats gnocchi. Google it if you don’t believe me.
Here’s a post with some more backcountry recipes and ideas.
