Foodie Friday: Handmade Potato Gnocchi
Foodie Friday: Handmade Potato Gnocchi (Published on Stocksy blog; Narrative constructed by Paul Lee after interviewing photographer Laura Stolfi)
In Italy we have an old saying from a time when food was less than abundant: “R idi, ridi, che la mamma ha fatto gli gnocchi ,” meaning “Laugh, laugh, Mom prepared gnocchi!” Nowadays, we tend to use it as a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that someone is laughing for no real reason, but it shows that Italians have long thought of gnocchi as an occasion for delight. And it’s true: for both my mother and myself, gnocchi has always been one of our favorite dishes. It’s quick and easy to make, and it’s something that she made for us often as I was growing up. (My father, on the other hand, doesn’t like gnocchi at all, so we usually ate it for lunch while he was at work!) For this shoot, I wanted to capture that familiar experience. So when my mother told me she was going to make gnocchi again, I went to my parents’ house one afternoon to document it. She has a prized pastry board that a carpenter built for her just the way she liked it, so we put her board by the window and I photographed her as she prepared the gnocchi on it. The sauce she made this time was a plain tomato purée flavored with onion, olive oil, and salt, but you can also serve the gnocchi with fresh butter and Parmesan, meat ragù, pesto, or Gorgonzola cream. We ended up eating in the late afternoon with my camera gear still sitting on the table!
INGREDIENTS ● ● ● ●
1 kg of potatoes 300 g of flour (whole grain spelt or wheat flour) one egg a pinch of salt
METHOD ● ● ● ●
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Boil the potatoes whole, then mash them. Add the flour, egg, and salt to the mashed potatoes and work the whole mixture together with your hands until you have a compact dough. Divide the dough into several sections, rolling each section into a cylinder just larger than your thumb. Cut the cylinders into one-inch pieces. Imprint each piece lightly with a fork to create a nice pattern, then place each one on a floured baking sheet. Space them far enough apart so they don't stick together. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and your gnocchi. Boil the gnocchi until they are cooked and rise to the surface. It should only take a minute or two. Add your favorite sauce, some Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
Laura Stolfi is a photographer based in Lodi in northern Italy. She is inspired by books and cinema and loves to photograph nature and animals. When it comes to food photography, she is fascinated by the process of creating a story around a dish, using light, texture, props, and mood. See more of her images here.
In Italy we have an old saying from a time when food was less than abundant: “R idi, ridi, che la mamma ha fatto gli gnocchi ,” meaning “Laugh, laugh, Mom prepared gnocchi!” Nowadays, we tend to use it as a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that someone is laughing for no real reason, but it shows that Italians have long thought of gnocchi as an occasion for delight. And it’s true: for both my mother and myself, gnocchi has always been one of our favorite dishes. It’s quick and easy to make, and it’s something that she made for us often as I was growing up. (My father, on the other hand, doesn’t like gnocchi at all, so we usually ate it for lunch while he was at work!) For this shoot, I wanted to capture that familiar experience. So when my mother told me she was going to make gnocchi again, I went to my parents’ house one afternoon to document it. She has a prized pastry board that a carpenter built for her just the way she liked it, so we put her board by the window and I photographed her as she prepared the gnocchi on it. The sauce she made this time was a plain tomato purée flavored with onion, olive oil, and salt, but you can also serve the gnocchi with fresh butter and Parmesan, meat ragù, pesto, or Gorgonzola cream. We ended up eating in the late afternoon with my camera gear still sitting on the table!
INGREDIENTS ● ● ● ●
1 kg of potatoes 300 g of flour (whole grain spelt or wheat flour) one egg a pinch of salt
METHOD ● ● ● ●
●
●
Boil the potatoes whole, then mash them. Add the flour, egg, and salt to the mashed potatoes and work the whole mixture together with your hands until you have a compact dough. Divide the dough into several sections, rolling each section into a cylinder just larger than your thumb. Cut the cylinders into one-inch pieces. Imprint each piece lightly with a fork to create a nice pattern, then place each one on a floured baking sheet. Space them far enough apart so they don't stick together. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and your gnocchi. Boil the gnocchi until they are cooked and rise to the surface. It should only take a minute or two. Add your favorite sauce, some Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
Laura Stolfi is a photographer based in Lodi in northern Italy. She is inspired by books and cinema and loves to photograph nature and animals. When it comes to food photography, she is fascinated by the process of creating a story around a dish, using light, texture, props, and mood. See more of her images here.
