hot salad & other stories: humble potato

(Archive from November 4, 2022) When I Iived in Wisconsin and worked for a food organization that relied heavily on sourcing the produce we used from the farmers market, the joke was that all we could buy in the winter were beets and potatoes. It wasn’t so much of a joke as it was reality, with the addition of some greenhouse grown greens and sweet winterized spinach. Yet having a smaller variety forced us into both creative uses of them and repeat comfort dishes, like gnocchi. You can use any color potato or even squash. We’re aiming for little pillows of potato goodness, and less flour is your friend here. Adding an egg is optional, it helps bind the dough but honestly it’s just as good without.
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POTATO GNOCCHI
1 medium sized potato per person you’re serving, or 2–3 if they’re small
flour
an egg (optional)
salt
butter or olive oil
your favorite pasta sauce

- Boil or roast the potatoes until easily pierced with a fork, let cool and remove the skins.
- Grate or rice the potatoes (a ricer is a special tool for gnocchi–useful but niche) onto the countertop or a large cutting board.
- Crack the egg into the potatoes if using, add a pinch of salt, and use a fork or your hands to combine. (Add a second egg if making gnocchi for 5–10 people.)
- When making 1 persons worth of dough, I use about 1 cup of flour. I find the amount of flour is never precise–it depends on how much moisture is in the potato. Mix the potato and flour together, adding a little bit of flour if needed as needed, until it starts to stick together. It’s ok if it’s piecey and dry, it’ll come together. Start kneading the dough, gathering all the flour on your board into the dough. If it’s really sticky, add more flour. if it’s really too dry, add just a tiny bit of water. When the dough is cohesive and springs back a little bit when poked, set aside.
- Let the dough rest while you make your favorite pasta sauce.
- Start a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Cut off a large piece of dough, and roll it into a log the thickness of your finger. Cut the log into 1/2–3/4 inch pieces, and toss in flour. Don’t pile the raw gnocchi–they’ll stick together. I use a sheet pan as a landing place to set them aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Boil the gnocchi until they float, and then a few minutes more. Break one open to tell if they’re done, it shouldn’t be raw dough inside. Drain.
- Heat a pan with a little butter or olive oil over medium high. Add the the gnocchi and let them get crisp! (This step if optional, but delicious.)
- Combine gnocchi with sauce, and top with herbs and cheese.

OTHER STORIES
Confit tomatoes: Gather some end of season tomatoes or even those in the grocery store (smell them–the better they smell the better they taste). Place them in an oven safe pot or dutch oven in a single layer, along with 1 halved, whole head of garlic, a few sprigs of dried thyme and rosemary, a generous pinch of salt, a few cracks of pepper, and a splash of vinegar. Cover at least halfway up the tomatoes with good olive oil. Roast at 300F until they’re soft and smell amazing. Use as pasta sauce, on toast, and save the oil for using in salad dressing.

A New Medium: I am going to start posting these newsletters to my Medium page in addition to sending them in the emails. It feels like a good place to store and share all these stories with even more people!
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My line is open if you need to call for dough help!