GNOCCHETTI - TENUTA DI MURLO
Carlotta and Alessio at Tenuta di Murlo, Umbria.
An exclusive private estate in the often overlooked Umbria, offers authentic experiences and luxury stays with holiday villas restored from medieval farmhouses spread over hectares of olive groves, vineyards, gardens and lakes.
Carlotta built and runs the estate with her husband Alessio and, between pizza nights on a tree-terrace and preparing lovely handwritten notes for her guests, she still finds the time to provide the lucky followers of Tenuta di Murlo’s Instagram, with mouth watering recipes using locally grown products and in-house ingredients like their Extra Virgin Murlo Olive oil, that can be purchased at the Estate restaurant shop of ‘Il Caldaro’.
Here’s one of our favourite recipes!
INGREDIENTS
Gnocchetti
1 kg Red Umbrian potatoes from Colfiorito
300 grams of flour
1 egg
Salt (q.b)
Sauce
200 grams of Guanciale
300 grams of Datterino tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of oil
1 Onion
1 Garlic clove
Basil (q.b)
Q.b. (quanto basta) is an Italian acronym that you will find throughout Italian recipes and cookbooks and it literally translates ‘how much is enough’. Q.b leaves to you the choice of adding what you think is the right quantity of certain ingredients. It assumes you should know by personal taste how much of ingredients like salt, pepper, sugar, oil, etc. is enough for your recipe and we love using it! You could perhaps translate q.b with ‘as desired’.
METHOD
The sauce
It’s ideal to have the sauce ready before cooking the gnocchetti as you will have to move fast as these get taken out of the boiling water. Cook the sauce while the water boils, or beforehand and re-heat just before adding gnocchetti.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sliced onion and cook until this gets golden brown. Now add the datterino tomatoes and cook until they are soften and the juices thicken, about 3 minutes. Add the guanciale and let it brown altogether for a few minutes. Add the basil and season with salt and pepper as desired.
The gnocchetti
Start by boiling your potatoes until soft. The time will depend by the size and kind of your potatoes, test them with a fork - the fork should be sliding in easily, but not too easy or they would then be overcooked - (for this recipe we are using regional red Umbrian potatoes from Colfiorito). Take the potatoes off the boiling water, peel them and let them cool down.
Once cool, use a potato ricer to mash the potatoes on your lightly floured working table.
Flatten the potato layer and add the flour on top. Make a hollow in your pile of flour and potatoes, then pour in the egg in the center.
Add a bit of salt, then it’s time to start preparing the dough!
Start blending everything with your hands. If you see that it gets a little sticky, add a little flour, but don’t overdo. Keep kneading the dough until it gets soft, but not too soft.
You should now have a soft dough that holds together, doesn’t feel sticky and can be easily shaped. Take a piece of dough and roll it into a long 'sausage’ on your lightly floured surface, then cut it in small bites (roughly 1.5-2cm) with a sharp knife.
Make sure to keep the finished gnocchetti well floured at all times, to avoid them sticking to each other.
Bring a large, deep pot of salted water to the boil. Then start adding your gnocchhetti carefully, only a few at the time. It will only take a couple of minutes to cook. Do not stir nor touch the gnocchetti while cooking. You’ll know they’re ready when they bob back up and start floating.
You’ll want to keep your warm sauce ready at this stage.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out and add them to the sauce. Mix the gnocchetti with some olive oil and parmesan cheese.
Soft, creamy and homemade, your gnocchetti are ready to be served!
Enjoy!
