Banana Pancakes
I read an article in Lucky Peach by Cristina Tosi (the Pastry Chef for Dave Chang’s Momofuku and Milk Bar) about banana cream pie. She advocated using bananas that were so ripe, they were black. Well, in my household, that’s easy to do…sometimes we just forget to eat our potassium for the day, and the banana just ripens. I like to throw mine into the freezer until I’m ready to use it, and they defrost easily.
My gripe about banana pancakes is that its usually cooked with semi-ripened bananas, which are still chunky and hard in a batter. This morning, I used my overly-ripened bananas to make banana pancakes (in case you’re wondering, my boyfriend is a pancake fiend). They worked superbly! Using the overly-ripened banana meant that there was none of that raw banana taste or grainy feel. It was mush and I whisked it into my batter with ease.
The end result was a great tasting banana pancake: smooth, banana-y, and delicious. Next time, I’ll throw in some candied walnuts….whaddya think?
Filed under breakfast pancakes banana cristina tossi
Gnocchi
Remember how I said I was adding turkey eggs to my gnocchi? Thought I’d show the finished product. Gnocchi, in my opinion, should be soft little pillows (and not stodgy, leaden pellets).
RECIPE:
4 lightly packed cups baked potato, milled (you can use a ricer)
1.5 cups cake flour
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
fresh ground nutmeg
- Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl by hand, just until incorporated thoroughly. Careful not to over-mix.
- With extra flour on a clean surface, dump your dough out and pat into a circle, then, divide into four sections.
- With each section, roll into a sausage shape, then cut into the pieces you like (some like it petite, others like their gnocchi larger). Whatever the size, make sure the pieces are uniform to ensure even cooking time.
- Roll each piece into a sphere between your palms.
- If you possess a gnocchi board, roll the pieces on its floured surface to achieve the traditional gnocchi look. Otherwise, use a fork to mark and indent (the markings help the sauce cling).
- Freeze unused pieces, making sure they are floured well and not touching. Once frozen, you may transfer the gnocchi to a covered container.
- To cook: in a large pot of boiling, salted water, place your gnocchi in and when they start to float, give it 1 minute more, and immediately remove from water. Drain and serve with the pasta sauce and cheese of your choice.
Filed under gnocchi food italian recipe
