Parsnip Gnocchi

 

Parsnip gnocchi?! Whaaaat?! Another specialty a la Mark Bittman.
(Not the prettiest dish, but delicious. Another fun Saturday activity).
This was my first time making gnocchi - it's actually not all that hard, and it is definitely one of my favorite foods. Next time I'm going to try sweet potato gnocchi.

Parsnip Gnocchi
4 servings (or 1 Dave serving plus 1 Kristen serving)

1 pound parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional) - I forgot about this so left it out, but I'm sure it would have been delicious (even if dried)

1. Roast, steam, or boil parsnips until very tender (I boiled - only took 15-20 minutes or so). Be sure to drain well before proceeding. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
2. Puree the parsnips in a food processor until smooth; sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Add about 1 cup of the flour, the Parmesan, and the nutmeg and stir; add more flour until the mixture forms a dough you can handle. Knead for a minute or so on a lightly floured surface (I more than "lightly" floured it). The idea is to make a dough with as little additional flour as possible.
3. Roll a piece of dough into a rope about 1/2 inch thick, then cut the rope into 1-inch lengths; traditionally, you would spin each of these pieces off the tines of a fork to score it lightly. As each gnoccho is ready, put it on a sheet of wax paper; do not allow them to touch. (There is a good drawing of how to score the gnocchi, which I cannot reproduce, but I'm sure there are good instructions online somewhere).
4. A few at a time, add the gnocchi to the boiling water and stir. A minute after they rise to the surface, the gnocchi are done; remove with a slotted spoon. Put in a bowl and sauce or reheat in butter wthin a few minutes; these do not keep well (so eat them in one sitting like I did!).

Sauce: Butter, Sage, and Parmesan

4 tablespoons of butter
20-30 fresh sage leaves
1 cup Parmesan

Heat 4 or more tablespoons butter with 20 or 30 fresh sage leaves; the butter should brown and the sage sizzle. Toss pasta with the butter, sage, and Parmesan, thinning the sauce with pasta cooking liquid if necessary.