How to Make Gnocchi like an Italian Grandmother

This gnocchi recipe was taught to me when a friend came to visit from Genoa, Italy. Her mother came with her, and one night, alongside a small mountain of beautiful, fragrant basil, she taught us her homemade gnocchi recipe. I posted about the pesto we made to go with it in a separate post, and as promised the gnocchi as a followup. You ready!?

Gnocchi takes Patience

Gnocchi recipes aren’t for the faint of heart. Many, many things can go awry. I’m not trying to scare you off or dissuade you, I just want you to know what you are in for. Gnocchi-making takes practice, patience, and persistence. At their best, potato gnocchi can be light and delicate. At their worst, dense, rubbery, and/or soggy. The very worst are the gnocchi that come apart in the boiling water before they even reach your plate.

The Simplest Ingredients

The platter of petite, potato pillows coated with glistening flecks of basil pesto that Francesca’s mother made us that night was beautiful. The gnocchi recipe she taught us had just three ingredients – boiled, starchy russet potatoes combined with a minimal amount of flour (too much flour and your gnocchi are going to be heavy), and a bit of salt – no eggs. I’ve tweaked her version to be a little more user-friendly here, because to be honest, eggless gnocchi are very tricky to get the hang of, very delicate to handle. I’m afraid if I post the eggless version here, there will be a number of you who will try it, get frustrated, and curse me. So, a bit of egg it is.

This Gnocchi Recipe: The Details

In the version here, I incorporate just enough egg to act as a bit of a binder for the gnocchi. We still aren’t using an excessive amount of flour, and the resulting gnocchi are deliciously light. They can also stand up to a toss with your favorite sauce. You can see them pictured at the top of this post, tossed with this favorite pesto.

If you are committed to trying the eggless version, try this version first. After that, perhaps the next time around, use half the egg, and the time after that go for no egg. By that time, you should have all the other steps figured out and you’ll have a better vantage point and level of experience from which to work You’ll also have a better sense of how to handle and work with the dough.

So, here it is – the long awaited gnocchi recipe. Give it a go, and let me know what you think. If you know how to make pesto, this is the time to do it! A simple toss is perfect. 

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How to Make a Great Vegetarian Poke Bowl

Let’s talk about how to make a great vegetarian poke bowl. Poke is a much-loved, traditional, raw fish preparation, long popular in Hawaii. Fishermen would season bits of their catch, and snack on it while working. Poke (pronounced poh-kay) has exploded in popularity, well beyond Hawaii, in recent years. The version I’m posting today is for any of you who love the idea of poke or poke bowls, but don’t eat fish for whatever reason. Vegetarian poke bowls are particularly fantastic this time of year because they’re light, clean, filling but not heavy, You know?

Vegetarian Poke Bowl: The Components

I typically use a watermelon poke, a version of this sushi rice (but any favorite sushi rice / blend will do), and a host of other vibrant toppings. Here you see firm, organic tofu, sliced avocado, blanched asparagus, shaved watermelon radish, and micro sprouts. The bowl is drizzled, simply, with good soy sauce. And there’s a sprinkling of sesame seeds and scallions. The other topping I really crave, not pictured here, is a showering of crispy, fried shallots. 

Seasonal Variations

When it comes to toppings, what you see here is just a jumping off point. And I encourage you to play around with all the components. For example, you might trade in roasted squash cubes for the watermelon later in the year. And do roasted onions in place of scallions. Or, play around with the drizzle on top. For a quick poke bowl, I just do a soy sauce drizzle, but you could whip up something more complex. Have fun with it!

Although, it can be argued, a vegetarian poke bowl isn’t a real poke bowl, it’s a great meal just the same. Keep your eyes peeled for other inspiration as well. I love seeing the creative vegetarian and vegan poke bowls on menus at poke spots all over. Lots of ideas there that you might replicate in your own kitchens!

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13 Grilled Pizza Ideas for this Weekend

Great pizza is the result of good dough and intense heat. Your creativity dictates the rest – from the shape, to the toppings. Perfecting great pizza at home is one of the most satisfying activities a home cook can master. That said, keeping your oven at 500°F for an hour during peak summer turns your kitchen into a sweaty zone of sad. If you are grilling in your backyard this weekend and are tired of kabobs, veggie burgers and corn on the cob; consider making grilled pizza. Here are thirteen ideas for grilled pizza that go beyond margherita. If you have any favorite pizza grilling ideas (or favorite toppings), let me know in the comments! 

Grilled Pizza Tips

• If you already have a go-to pizza dough recipe that you know well, use that. This is the best pizza dough I know, from the master baker, Peter Reinhart. If you are short on time, try a fresh dough your local store offers, Trader Joe’s has a good one in both regular and whole-grain.
• As with the oven, you want to achieve the maxiumum heat. Pre-heat the grill as long as possible and check the temperature before starting the pizza.
• If you have and use a pizza stone in your oven, you can also use it on the grill.
• Grilled pizza differs from in the oven in that you generally flip the dough once before your add your toppings.
• Consider pre-cooking any veggies or other toppings, if needed, knowing they aren’t going to spend as much time in heat as they would in an oven.
• Use a wash of olive oil to prevent the first side from sticking on the grill.

1. Greek Summer-Squash Grilled Pizza (Eating Well)
This pizza broadcasts summer with a bright yellow color, and is perfect for the grill. The feta adds a nod to Greece.

2. Mushroom Pizza with Havarti Cheese, Fresh Herbs, and White Truffle Oil (A Beautiful Plate)
A lot going on here, in a good way! This recipe calls for shiitake and baby bell mushrooms, Havarti and fontina, rosemary, thyme and a touch of truffle oil.

3. Grilled Flatbread Pizza with Artichoke, Ricotta and Lemon (Pure Wow)
Artichokes are one of the best things summer offers. This is a great combination of artichokes, lemon and riccotta. If you have extra time and can source some fresh artichokes, that will make this pizza even better.

4. These Gorgeous Pizzas Are the Best Way to Use Up Your Farmers’ Market Haul (Bon Appétit)
The Bon Appétit test kitchen guide to grilling pizza focuses on the placement of dough on your grill (especially if you are using charcoal). Many good tips and suggestions here. What I want to try first? Squash blossoms, mozzarella, fontina, and chive blossoms.

5. Grilled Shakshuka Pizza (The Modern Proper)
I’ve seen plenty of pizzas topped with eggs, but for some reason I associated it with shakshuka, until now. Cumin and paprika alter the traditional red sauce flavors to reference shakshuka.

6. Charred Corn with Rosemary Grilled Pizza (Naturally Ella via Foodie Crush)
Along with summer squash, corn is perfect match for a summer pizza on a grill. (Check out our recent look at some great corn on the cob recipes). There are other summer pizzas that call for corn, but check out the flavor combination of this one, corn paired with gorgonzola.

7. Grilled Heirloom Tomato Pizza (Salt Pepper Skillet)
Summer can be an embarassment of riches. You come home from the farmer’s market with a haul of heirloom tomatoes and they beg to be used in different ways besides salads. Here’s your answer. The recipe couldn’t be simpler and works with whatever tomatoes are available where you live.

8. Grilled Gluten-free Pizza with Peas, Lemon and Mint (Bojon Gourmet)
This pizza screams: fresh. One of the tricky things about grilled pizza is you want to cook the dough before you add the toppings, which can create some timing issues if you want to cook those toppings without burning the crust. In this case, the ingredients only need a few minutes to get warm.

9. Grilled White Pizza (What’s Gaby Cooking)
The debate about what makes a pizza different from a flatbread will never be settled. For some people sauce makes the difference. In this view, any white pizza is a flatbread, but I’d argue certain toppings indicate white pizza (carmelized onions, mushrooms). Have that debate with this pizza over a glass of very cold rosé!

10. Grilled Summer Veggie Spelt Pizza (Wife Mama Foodie)
This is one of the most attractive grilled pizzas, popping with summer colors! You can certainly improvise with the list of bright summer veggies depending on what you have on hand. What catches my attention about the recipe itself is the sprouted spelt crust – it’s probably going to behave and taste similar to whole wheat.

11. Grilled Peach, Basil and Goat Cheese Pizza (Jessica in the Kitchen)
If you are doing a series of pizzas on the grill, why not save a dessert pizza for last? Grilled fruit is definitely a bbq secret not everyone knows about, or at least doesn’t turn too often enough. This recipe features what looks like an amazing basalmic reduction sauce, which will provide the perfect flavor counterpoint to the sweet fruit.

12. Grilled Fig Pizza with Balsamic Onions and Gorgonzola (Feasting at Home)
This pizza makes a lot of sense. Warm figs are great, with a tangy cheese, they’re even better. Put that on a grilled pizza and this might be a new summer classic.

13. Vegan Roasted Cauliflower Pizza (This Savory Vegan)
Here’s a vegan pizza that would work well on the grill. Barbecue sauce acts as the sauce (here’s a bunch of good barbecue sauce recipes if you want to do homemade). The cauliflower is tossed with sirachca and red wine vinegar, so there’s going to be plenty of flavor.

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Meyer Lemon Focaccia with Hemp Seeds and Herbs

You can make this. I promise. Even if you don’t think you’re much of a baker. It’s a golden crusted focaccia draped with whisper thin rounds of Meyer lemon, studded with black olives, and a showered with sliced almonds. The dough is herb-flecked with a generous boost of hemp seeds, and a percentage of rye flour if you happen to have some on hand. It’s the same one I posted to my Instagram feed, and It’s the one focaccia recipe you need! 

The Pre-bake:

The shot above is what the focaccia looks like prior to baking. I used an enamelled cast-iron baking pan, but(!) you can absolutely make the focaccia free-form (just shape it on a standard baking sheet). A third option is a cast iron skillet. I baked the last version I did in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Experiment and have fun with it!

The Inspiration

I’ve been on a bit of a focaccia bender lately after making Nigel Slater’s Cranberry Focaccia for New Years Eve (from The Christmas Chronicles). I forgot how simple and satisfying it is to make, and all the different ways you can top it based on what you have around the kitchen. You can adapt the recipe with all sorts of alternate toppings! Have fun experimenting.

Choosing the Correct Yeast:

This recipe calls for instant yeast, and I’m including a shot of the exact yeast I used for reference below. You can add it directly to the dough. Different than active dry yeast.

If you make this focaccia, or a riff on it, tag me on Instagram (heidijswanson) so I can see :)!

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Super Green Juice

Everyone should have a green juice recipe in their repertoire, and this one is a ringer. Its heart and soul is straight green, not at all sweet, with a good amount of lemon-lime tang, and invigorating ginger lift. Like many green juices, it makes you sing from the inside, and is reason enough to invest in a juicer, or dust one off.

When I traveled to Paris last year, I spent a beautiful first day and night there, then came down with a (particularly miserable) cold – throat on fire, raspy cough. Being sick away from home is hard, being sick in a city like Paris, when you’re there for just a short time, is spiritually deflating. So, in preparation for my most recent trip, I became a vigilant hand-washing, snotty three-year avoiding, soup eating individual with a juicer on the counter.

I religiously drank a glass of this green juice every day, punctuated with a gingery version of this turmeric tea a few times along the way. It’s a variation on one of the (many) green juices highlighted in Pressed Juicery’s Juice: Recipes for Juicing, Cleansing, and Living Well, a book I purchased recently, before realizing we share the same editor!
Juicing can be time intensive. I think that is why so many people are inclined to purchase fresh juices instead of making them at home. Quite honestly, I do both. There are stretches when I don’t get around to making fresh juice, and other times I make it regularly. I like how fresh juice makes me feel.

Simplifying Green Juice 

– Wash, trim, and prepare your produce when you come home from the market. Then refrigerate. This way, it’s straight into the juicer when you’re ready.

– Make more then you need in one go. Certainly, fresh, immediate juice is the best. That said, I make a three day supply, and keep it refrigerated (you can even freeze it). And it’s good. With this juice in particular, you can use it as a soup broth, I even used it to make dumpling wrappers in place of water.

– Clean up as soon as you’re finished.

Keep in mind, this is a juicer recipe, not a blender/smoothie.

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