![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
There is this bizarre ingredient here, called "grano arso" - burnt wheat - a specialty from the Puglia region.
That burnt wheat was that left ovter the harvest, traditionally picked after the remaining wheat stalks had been burnt to the ground. So this flour comes from stray kernels that might have gone lost but were collected nevertheless because you don't let food go to waste.
Nowadays, of course, wheat is deliberately burnt to recreate what has become a delicacy. The flour can find its way into pasta or bread.
Or, as today's dish shows, gnocchi.
The flour is a dark brownish grey, with a pleasant smoky scent but it needs to be mixed with normal flour not to be overpowering, so I though it would do well with mashed potatoes.
For 2 persons as an abondant first dish:
2 medium potatoes (not floury, not new) - roughly 250g
1 egg yolk (medium egg)
Some flour (my recipe called for 70g but after 2 tablespoons - 40g - it was enough)
Scrub the potatoes and cover them with cold water.
Boil gently until tender (30 minutes or so).
Drain, peel and mash (preferably with a ricer - as little manipulation of the potatoes as can be possible is a must in order not to let starch develop). Spread the mashed potatoes over a clean tea towel and let cool a little (and let steam - water - leave the flesh).
Transfer to a bowl and add the egg yolk. Mix rapidly with a fork.
Fold the flour spoonful after spoonful, until the dough holds.
Form in a cylinder and slice a fourth.
Roll this part over a floured surface into a cigar shape (and size) and cut into regular segments. Let the formed pieces rest on the floured board while you prepare all the gnocchi.
Prepare the sauce:
Because I thought the taste would go nicely with the smoky flavour of the gnocchi, I used cultivated mushrooms cooked together with a crumbled sausage and a little Marsala.
Boil the gnocchi in salted water, scooping them up as soon as they come to the surface and float, transferring them to the dish with the sauce. You can serve as is but I have opted to add a little stracchino (soft cheese) on top and let it brown briefly under the grill.
Crack some black pepper on top.
Eat while it is warm.
That burnt wheat was that left ovter the harvest, traditionally picked after the remaining wheat stalks had been burnt to the ground. So this flour comes from stray kernels that might have gone lost but were collected nevertheless because you don't let food go to waste.
Nowadays, of course, wheat is deliberately burnt to recreate what has become a delicacy. The flour can find its way into pasta or bread.
Or, as today's dish shows, gnocchi.
The flour is a dark brownish grey, with a pleasant smoky scent but it needs to be mixed with normal flour not to be overpowering, so I though it would do well with mashed potatoes.
For 2 persons as an abondant first dish:
2 medium potatoes (not floury, not new) - roughly 250g
1 egg yolk (medium egg)
Some flour (my recipe called for 70g but after 2 tablespoons - 40g - it was enough)
Scrub the potatoes and cover them with cold water.
Boil gently until tender (30 minutes or so).
Drain, peel and mash (preferably with a ricer - as little manipulation of the potatoes as can be possible is a must in order not to let starch develop). Spread the mashed potatoes over a clean tea towel and let cool a little (and let steam - water - leave the flesh).
Transfer to a bowl and add the egg yolk. Mix rapidly with a fork.
Fold the flour spoonful after spoonful, until the dough holds.
Form in a cylinder and slice a fourth.
Roll this part over a floured surface into a cigar shape (and size) and cut into regular segments. Let the formed pieces rest on the floured board while you prepare all the gnocchi.
Prepare the sauce:
Because I thought the taste would go nicely with the smoky flavour of the gnocchi, I used cultivated mushrooms cooked together with a crumbled sausage and a little Marsala.
Boil the gnocchi in salted water, scooping them up as soon as they come to the surface and float, transferring them to the dish with the sauce. You can serve as is but I have opted to add a little stracchino (soft cheese) on top and let it brown briefly under the grill.
Crack some black pepper on top.
Eat while it is warm.
Tags: