Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Gnocchi al Pizzaiolo, Tea Biscuits and my Odd Looking Pasta

I made some nice tea biscuits the other day and thought I`d share the recipe for any biscuit lovers out there. Doubled the recipe and got about 14 large.

Tea Biscuits

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup of raisins
3/4 cup milk, plus
1-2 tablespoon milk

(for a sweet biscuit, add 1/4-1/2 cup sugar)

Combine dry ingredients.

Cut in the shortening until mixture is like coarse oatmeal. Add raisins.


Stir in 3/4 cup milk, then add 1 or 2 tablespoons more milk to form a soft dough.


Knead a few strokes on a lightly floured board.


Do not overwork dough.


Roll into a thick tube and slice about 1 1/2 inch thick chunks



Bake on a cookie sheet with parchment paper at 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
*** These would be nice with some hot peppers and cheese added instead of raisins or currants.

Next I opened my new cook book and made
Gnocchi with Fresh Tomatoes, Green Olives and Smoked Mozzarella
*** from Mario Batali`s "Molto Italiano" Cook Book

First off I made some Potato Gnocchi. Excuse how it looks hehe. I`ve never made any sort of pasta before and there was no picture of how it SHOULD look. When I did see a pic, it showed that one should press ones thumb into each piece to hold the sauce. Looks pathetic and lumpy but it did taste good. Tossed in olive oil, it will keep in the fridge for 48 hours until you need it.


There`s tons of recipes for this on the web and being a non typer, I won`t add this one, but I will add the sauce recipe...

1 pound of plum tomatoes ( I only had canned at the time, so used that, being as this was on a whim )
6 tblsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1/2 cup green olives ( again I had only sliced ones rather than whole )
Potatoe Gnocchi
4 ounces smoked fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch cubes ( I used regular moz )
2 tblsp. fresh marjoram leaves ( used dried )* note to self ** plant some of this.
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 chopped onion ( not in original recipe but we love onions )

Core and chop tomatoes, saving the juice as well.
Saute garlic and onions for about a minute and then add the tomatoes and juice. Cook until soft. Of course mine were already soft :)
Simmer on low for a bit and add the marjoram and salt and pepper.

Place the warm Gnocchi in single serving bowls and pour the sauce over. Drop some mozzarella cubes on top and enjoy.

We had to eat ours at separate times so I put mine all together and heated it up in the microwave later on. It was actually quite nice with the cheese melted.
It`s very filling and if I serve it again, I`ll make less and have it as a side dish with a nice salad and some crusty bread.
If this recipe is any indication of the others in this book, I can`t wait to try something else!
Have a great week everyone. The snow has melted a wee small teeny tiny bit and I`m hoping it`s finally a sign that spring is on it`s way.

15 comments:

Deana said...

Yum! You appear to be a VERY good cook!

Saur♥Kraut said...

Oh...*drool*...my goodness... I recently purchased some asiago-stuffed gnocchi from a local italian deli that is FABULOUS. But this really beats it, I think. You are inspiring me...

Julie said...

Oh my goodness my mouth is watering. I made homemade pasta once, when I took an Italian cooking class. The friend that I took the class with went out and bought a pasta maker. Me? I never made pasta again!

Farmgirl Cyn said...

I have never made gnocci before, but I have made homemade noodles for chicken soup. The gnocci dish looks amazing!
Geez, where the heck have I been?!

Anonymous said...

Just popping by to wish you all a happy Easter.
Carolyn
http://willowhouse.typepad.com

Rick Rockhill said...

Thank you-thank you-thank you for this recipe. It looks delicious so I'll have to try it. This came at a perfect time. I've been bored with my repertoire of usual stuff.

Anonymous said...

That looks so yummy I know about the gnocchi. I have tried them once and I must say yours look so much better ; )
I must try those biscuits. They look so delicious !!!
Have a great day !!

Anonymous said...

That looks heavenly. I once made nettle gnocchi with the delicate first-growth of nettles and it was surprisingly nice. I think your gnocchi look wonderful compared to our quenelle-shaped ones which were so dreadful to keep in their shapes!

Hope you're well and had a nice Easter!

Carol said...

It all looks very good to me, thank you for the recipes...I may have a go at the Gnocch. As we have ate it before, nobody can moan!
Cx

HORIZON said...

Both recipies look great but l think l'll try out the Tea Biscuits one first. Oh boy you should have seen how terrible my hot cross buns turned out-lol
Is the snow still deep? Keep warm Tea!

Rick Rockhill said...

I just stopped back to tell you I made the gnochhi and they we oh-so-delicious. Thanks again

Saur♥Kraut said...

Hey girl! Where'd you disappear to?

Tea said...

The snow`s melting Horizon.
Glad the Gnocchi turned out great for you Rick!
Saurkraut....I`m still here.....just been extremely busy. Will try to post soon.

tea
xo

Unknown said...

Drooool. I want Gnocchi now!! Looks amazing! The best gnoc I ever had was in NYC, in an italian resto on Madison Ave. It was a fave resto of Oprah and my sis and I thought we would go and try it. No Oprah that night..hehe..but the gnocchi was melt in your mouth delcious! The place was packed with tables, and the waiters would pull the table out from the wall to squeeze you in. Of course, the front room, more spacious was reserved for the rich and famous! Oh, and I lost my fave sweater there!

James Higham said...

Oh yummy and promise I shan't overwork the dough.