Friday, August 23, 2013

Gluten Free Gnocchi

Both my husband and I grew up eating homemade gnocchi.  It's one of the perks of having Italian grandmothers.  We even learned how to make Mammaw's gnocchi when we still lived in Pittsburgh in my gluten eating days.  There was no way we were letting my husband's grandmother's best recipes be lost.  Mitch and I have made gluten free gnocchi several times with different flours and even purple potatoes.  Every time we made them, we weren't completely satisfied with the outcome, and the kitchen was always a huge mess.


They look gorgeous, but they didn't wow me enough to go to all the trouble to make them again.


We have enjoyed Conte's Gluten Free Gnocchi so much, we decided we were done experimenting with a homemade variety.  I love the fact that I can prepare this dinner in less than 10 minutes.  We usually serve the gnocchi with Scarpetta Tuscan Vodka Sauce.  It's sugar, preservative, and gluten free.  We've made our own vodka sauce, but Scarpetta is better.  This is the first store bought sauce I have ever liked.  I first purchased it at The Fresh Market, but I usually order it from amazon.  I add 2 teaspoons of sugar to the sauce as it cooks, because I like my red sauces to be sweet.    

In Orlando, I have purchased Conte's Gluten Free Gnocchi from Chamberlin's in Winter Park, and Whole Foods on Turkey Lake Road.  


This summer, I learned that DeLallo was releasing a gluten free gnocchi.  I was so excited when I finally found them at The Fresh Market yesterday.  Unlike Conte's, they are not frozen.  DeLallo Gluten Free Gnocchi are made in Italy in a dedicated gluten free facility.  They are also non-GMO.  Ingredients - rehydrated potatoes (water, potato flakes), rice flour, potato starch, salt, lactic acid, sorbic acid (added as a preservative).  


They are a little bit smaller than Conte's gnocchi.  


I decided to make my 2 packages of DeLallo Gluten Free Gnocchi with a brown butter and fresh sage sauce.  They were different from Conte's, but just as good.  I will definitely purchase them again.  

Update - We are now exclusively buying DeLallo Gluten Free Gnocchi. They don't take up precious room in our freezer and we like them a little better than Conte's.  

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

In a large frying pan, melt 3 or 4 T of butter, then add 1 large clove of minced garlic and 10 chopped sage leaves.  Stir for a couple of minutes until the butter and garlic begin to brown.  Remove from heat.  Cook the gnocchi according to package directions and drain.  Add the gnocchi to the frying pan and gently coat them with the butter sauce.  Garnish with Romano or Parmesan cheese.  Optional -- add 1/4 tsp of fresh cracked black pepper.  


We also love to serve gnocchi with homemade pesto.  

Pesto

Ingredients

1 C fresh basil -- packed
2 T pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp coarse ground black pepper 
1/4 to 1/3 C extra-virgin olive oil 
1/4 C grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until they are well combined.  Add the oil and cheese.  Pulse until smooth.  


Another sauce option is my mom's quick cook tomato sauce.  It's so delicious!  When she makes it, she cooks up several batches, and freezes the sauce in gallon-sized freezer bags.  You can view the recipe here.  My mom's sauce is a great sauce for both pasta and pizza.  


In 10 minutes, you can have dinner on the table with DeLallo Gluten Free Gnocchi and Scarpetta Tuscan Vodka Sauce.  


Scarpetta Tuscan Vodka Sauce ingredients - tomatoes, cream, onions, extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, basil, salt, black pepper, citric acid.  


May 6, 2015 Update



We have also tried Cappello's gluten and grain free gnocchi, which is currently not available for purchase in Orlando.


You can read my review of Cappello's gnocchi here.  It might be my new favorite, but it is hard to say when I am not taste-testing them all at the same time.


I haven't had Nuovo's basil gnocchi in a few years, but I remember them being very good.  They also make sweet potato gnocchi, which I haven't tried, but saw in Earth Fare on a recent trip to Greenville, South Carolina.  The Whole Foods on Turkey Lake Road used to sell Nuovo gluten free gnocchi, but I haven't seen them there recently.

What is your favorite brand of gluten free gnocchi?  


4 comments:

  1. I am really excited to try the DeLallo gnocchi - I love their other GF pastas. Do you know if they have to be refrigerated? I'm thinking about buying in bulk ;)

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