Christmas in Pray or how to make gnocchi - Natale a Pray ovvero come fare gli gnocchi

Gabriella: Today we are fortunate we shall have lunch with Dr. Mina Novello
author of many cookbooks promoter of all the memories of the valley of Biella
today we eat gnocchi alla bava and see all the stages of preparation
I present to you Dr. Mina Novello she is my dearest friend
and now we will see today's work Mina: a recipe from Piedmont
Mina: it would take for the gnocchi white potatoes, are hard to find
so we use red potatoes that are fairly dry
and yellow Piedmont potatoes . In Piedmont, the gnocchi are made without eggs
and without the addition of oil as happens in other regions
are made only with potatoes and flour must be soft gnocchi, then
the quality of Piedmont gnocchi is in the ability to add less flour we can
you add enough flour to work the mixture, without making it too hard
must be some melting in the mouth
potatoes can be cooked in their skins and peeled after
or peeled before and steamed. if you peel it is important to steam
so that they absorb the least amount liquid,
in order to require the fewest possible of flour.
if you cook with the skin, can be cooked in boiling salted water
wash the potatoes
we can use to streamline the pressure cooker
for four people around one kg (2.2 oz) potatoes to clean
and about 200 grams (0.4 oz) flour 00
or 50 grams (0.1 oz) semolina flour and 150 grams (0.3 oz) flour 00
is not possible to give exact amounts because if the potatoes are fresh take on more flour
if potatoes are old are more dry and absorb less flour
However, these arw doses, then is necessary salt, plenty of salt to the cooking water
It takes about 150 grams (0.3 oz) Fontina d'Aosta cheese
half a glass of milk and 60 grams (0.12 oz) of butter to prepare the sauce for the gnocchi alla bava
the important thing is not Fontal but Fontina d'Aosta
cut into slices so that it dissolves easily
this sauce is called in Piedmont 'alla bava' then it should give a result a little stringy
After about quarter of an hour open, the potatoes are cooked
pass the potato ricer or food mill
a little flour and semolina
a good pinch of salt, being steamed they have no salt
then continue with the 00 flour
necessary to obtain a homogeneous mixture, enough dry and stable to be worked with hands
Hot now: they can be left to cool the work is facilitated
you work as a paste, as if you did the noodles
the dough is smooth and hard enough that it can be pulled strings in the size of a finger
cutting out portions
working with the palms of your hands transform in cords of uniform size
the flattener should be well floured
when we have prepared three or four we cut
cut regular pieces
dusting them with a little flour
with a rigagnocchi or a fork we shape the gnocchi
digging a small hole that will be used to collect better the sauce
Butter! now we make it dissolve. For 4 people 60 gr (0.12 oz)
These gnocchi can also be made with different sauces.
a tomato sauce and marjoram, for example
or a walnut sauce, or pesto alla Genovese or simply fried with butter, parmesan and a grating of nutmeg (Biella sauce)
everybody can dress as he feels
are well adapted to an onion sauce and sausage, fairly traditional with us, especially in winter
cook the onion over a low heat shell the sausage wet with a glass of marsala wine leave to dry with this sauce dress gnocchi
for gnocchi 'alla bava' as we decided Melt the butter, let it sizzle
then add half a glass of milk
Fontina cheese
stir to melt the cheese
if you do not use the fontina cheese, more appropriate, you should at least use a cheese that melts well
the result should be a creamy sauce and homogeneous, it takes a few minutes
and the sauce is ready
pull off the heat to melt the last pieces in a way that does not dry too
add some nice pepper, freshly ground
in salted water
few at a time
cook the time it takes are afloat
they pass quickly into the sauce