Gluten-Free Potato Gnocchi
This recipe is inspired by Alanna Taylor-Tobin's gorgeous blog The Bojon Gourmet. Her recipes are health conscious and modern and her photos are stunning. It was her recipe for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi that caught my eye. I realized I really needed a recipe for a basic gluten-free, dairy-free potato gnocchi! Gnocchi are surprisingly easy to make. Usually they contain just potatoes, wheat flour, eggs, and salt. For my gluten-free version, I tried nutrient dense flours like millet, but the texture was a bit gritty and the strong grain flavors competed with the lovely, light flavor of potato that makes gnocchi so comforting and such a great vehicle for sauces.
So, I kept things simple and used sticky glutinous rice flour and egg to hold everything together. The result is light, tender, and versatile, and would fool a gluten-loving dinner guest. You can serve them boiled with a sauce (basil pesto and Bolognese are yummy) or pan-fried with sautéed mushrooms and grated cheese. The fried version would also be great as a potato side for a really good steak.
- As a main course for 2 or appetizer or side for 4, you will need:
- 2 large russet potatoes, skin pricked with a fork and microwaved until cooked through. (The microwave is my g-free secret to getting the excess water out of the potatoes and creating an ideal texture that is light but sticky. I also microwave the potatoes in my latke recipe. And it's much faster than the oven. Start with 6 minutes on high for 1 potato, 8 minutes for two. If a knife goes through the potato easily, it's cooked.) Allow to cool completely.
- 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour, also called "sweet" rice flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Brown rice flour or millet flour for dusting
Directions:
Peel the cooled potatoes and pass them through a sieve or potato ricer. From two large potatoes, you should get just under 3 cups of light, fluffy riced potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add the egg, salt, and rice flour. Mix with your hands until you have a smooth dough. Do not over mix, or the starches will become too gluey and dense.
Generously dust a clean counter or cutting board with a slightly courser g-free flour such as Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Flour. (To absorb excess liquid and prevent sticking.) Take small handfuls of dough and roll into logs that are about 3/4" in diameter. Cut into pieces about 1/2" long. Using a fork dipped in rice flour, lightly squish each gnocchi until you see the pattern of the fork tines. Then rotate 90 degrees and squish again until each gnocchi forma a 1" rectangle. These fork marks allows a sauce to cling to the gnocchi, and they make them more attractive, too.
You can cook them immediately, but I recommend leaving them n the counter for a couple of hours to air dry. They'll hold up better during cooking this way. Sadly, they don't freeze well, so you'll want to cook and eat them the day you make them.
You can cook them several different ways:
Boiled: Drop into a large pot of salted, boiling water. When they float (after about 1 minute), give them 30 more seconds. Do not overcook, or they will disintegrate. Drain, sauce, and serve immediately.
Boiled and Fried: Drop into a large pot of salted, boiling water. When they float (after about 1 minute), drain them, then pan fry them in butter or olive oil until lightly golden on one or more sides.
Steam Fried: Place a few tablespoons of water and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil or butter in a large nonstick skillet with a lid. Bring to a simmer, add the gnocchi in a single a layer, and cover. After a couple of minutes, when all the water has evaporated, remove the lid and fry the gnocchi until golden on all sides. These will be very crispy and a little firmer than the boiled version. They would be great with meats.