These golden little pillows of dough from Chef Kevin Long are a perfectly delicious way to begin a festive meal. While the marinara sauce can be made well ahead of time and reheated on the stove before dinner, it’s best to fry the gnocchi just before serving, lest they get soggy.
Fried Gnocchi
Details
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the gnocchi
- 4 ounces water
- 4 ounces milk
- 4 ounces butter
- salt
- 1/4 tablespoon sugar
- pinch nutmeg
- 4 ounces all purpose flour
- 3 ounces semolina flour
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese
- 4 whole eggs
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced small
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 1 small can of tomatoes in juice
- salt
- sugar
Directions
For the marinara
- In a sauce pot, caramelize the onions and garlic together until golden brown. Next, add in the canned tomatoes and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add in half the fresh herbs. As the sauce simmers, break down the tomatoes spoon. Season with salt and sugar to taste.
- After an hour of simmering, add in the remaining half of the fresh herbs. Re-season the sauce with salt and finish off by stirring in the 1/4 cup high quality olive oil.
- Combine the water, milk, butter, salt, sugar and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and add the two flours. Mix well on low heat with a rubber spatula until a dough begins to form.
- Off heat, transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and slowly incorporate with a paddle mixer the Parmesan cheese and eggs. Let the dough rest and cool down. Then, transfer into a piping bag.
- Heat frying oil to 350 degrees and pipe 1inch dough segments into the hot oil. The gnocchi will fry up and begin to float. Once they are golden brown they are ready. Remove them from the oil and season with salt to taste.
- Serve the sauce warm on the side of the fried gnocchi and garnish with some fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese.
