Pesto Gnocchi with Zucchini and Olives

Pesto Gnocchi with Zucchini and Olives

Takes about 1 hour, 45 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Gnocchi:

1 lbs russet potatoes, diced

2 tbsp water

½ tsp salt

½ tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

1 recipe lime-almond pesto (recipe follows)

1 zucchini, sliced into quarter slices

1 cup mixed sliced seasoned olives, any type
1 cup cherry tomatoes

1. Boil potatoes 10 minutes.  Mash with a fork, add water, salt, and olive oil.  Mix in the flour and work into a dough.

2. Cut the dough into eight pieces.  Roll each piece into a long round roll and chop into ½ inch pieces.  Press each piece down a little with a fork so that there are lines on it.  Place on a cookie sheet and cover with a towel.

3. Boil a large pot of water with a small amount of oil added in.  Drop in the gnocchi in batches – you should have about 3 batches.  Make sure they are in a fairly single layer.  Boil until about 1 minute after the float (3 – 4 minutes total).  Remove with a slotted spoon and put in the next batch.

4. In an oiled skillet or wok, sauté the zucchini for about 4 -5 minutes until slightly softened but still crisp.  Mix in with the gnocchi and add the olives.  Pour the pesto over the gnocchi and mix the whole thing together.  Serve warm or cold.

Lime-Almond Pesto

Makes about ½ - ¾ cup pesto

Takes about 15 minutes

This is a variation on normal pesto.  Using almonds, instead of pine nuts, is substantially cheaper and the taste is not very different.  Lime juice instead of lemon makes for a nice change.

Ingredients:

1 tightly packed cup of basil (overflowing is good)

¼ cup slivered or blanched almonds

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp fresh minced ginger, unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp lime juice

¾ tsp salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in the food processor.  Pulse until you reach your desired consistency.

Whole Wheat Raisin Cinnamon Bagels

I also have variations of this recipe for pumpernickel and sundried tomato bagels.  Contact me for the recipes.

Whole Wheat Raisin Cinnamon Bagels

Takes about 3 hours

Makes 8 large bagels

Bagels are not hard to make, in fact they are kind of fun.  However, a lot of people seem to be more intimidated of making bagels than bread.  The key to making bagels is just allowing your bagels to really rise; give them more time than I say if it doesn’t look like they are puffy.  I adapted this recipe from a mix of several different online recipes.  I give adaptations for raisin or sundried tomato bagels but you can really make any type you like (or you can do half and half with the dough).  1 tbsp of salt is NOT a misprint.  You actually need that much for the amount of flour given.  Barley malt may be hard to find but you can substitute in a light molasses if needed.

Ingredients:

Basic:

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp salt

1 (1/4 oz) package of active yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1 ½ cups of warm water

1 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup of raisins or currents

Boiling broth:

10 cups of water

1 tbsp barley malt syrup

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1. Proof the yeast by mixing it with the warm water (105 – 110 degrees) and the sugar.  Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.  If the mixture becomes frothy or bubbles, your yeast is good to go.  If this doesn’t happen, your yeast is inactive.  Throw out the mixture and start again with a new package.

2. Meanwhile, in separate bowl, mix the flour and salt.  When the yeast has been proofed, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients.  Mix with a spoon first and then your hands to work all the flour into the dough.  Knead until the dough is fairly soft and pliable but not sticky (should not take long).

3. If you are making either raisin or sundried tomato bagels, at this point add the additional ingredients in that are called for and work them into the dough until everything is homogenous.  Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours (flexible).

4. Punch down the dough and form it into 8 equal sized balls.  On a clean surface, roll each ball into a rope and then work the two ends together to form a bagel shape.  Bagels may appear small at this point but they will get bigger.  Place the bagels on a baking sheet and cover with towels.  Allow to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes (really warm is better – I like to heat my oven to the lowest setting, then turn it off, and allow the bagels to rise in the residual heat).

5. Preheat the oven to 425.

6. In a pot, mix the boiling marinade.  Add the 10 cups of water and stir in the barley malt syrup and the baking soda.  Bring to a boil.  Depending on the size of the pot, boil 2 to 3 bagels at once, not allowing them to touch each other very often.  Boil the bagels for 2 minutes on one side, flip, and then two minutes on the other side.  Transfer them back to the baking sheet.

7. When all the bagels have been boiled, bake them for 12 – 15 minutes until lightly browned.  Allow bagels to cool before cutting.