gnocchetti alla farina di castagne / chestnut flour gnocchetti

A little (edible) math:

a new version of a pretty pasta shape

+

a beloved dip repurposed as pasta sauce

=

a cheerful plate of pasta

Besides exploring new pasta shapes, I like creating variations of known ones. Today's pasta is an example. I took the pasta dough made with 50% farina di castagne (chestnut flour) previously used in making a version of strascinati and I tried making gnocchetti sardi (Sardinian gnocchi) with it. That worked very nicely.

I then took some roasted red pepper and almond dip (made last summer and frozen), and repurposed it as pasta sauce. The result? Sparkling!

The word "peppers" (peperoni) immediately brings to mind the summer farmers' market and the many varieties of this vegetable that I can find there, from sweet to mildly spicy to fiery hot. Fortunately, during pepper season, I did a bit of preservation work. 

Round of Hungary (or pimento) peppers

Sweet, meaty Round of Hungary peppers are perfect to make roasted red pepper and almond dip . A batch yields quite a bit, so a few times I froze half for future use. Hence now, in the dead of winter, I have some of the bright red spread to eat as usual or use in innovative ways.

soft in sepia (for Black and White Wednesday)

My original post on gnocchetti sardi  includes a short video, which I am reposting here. The video shows my hands cutting the rope of pasta and shaping gnocchetti. As in the video that inspired me, I am showing two ways of shaping the pasta: you can use your thumb or your index finger, depending on how you feel more comfortable. You'll see in the video that the position of the gnocchi board depends on the finger you want to use. 

 

The trick here is to apply the right amount of pressure on the piece of dough while dragging it along the board so that you get the sort of curl with the grooves on the surface and the nice nook on the other side. If you press too hard, the dough gets sort of smushed and sticks to the board. Make sure to flour lightly the gnocchi board as needed to prevent sticking. Also, if you have experience making gnocchetti with the original dough, be advised that in this version they are softer, so a light touch is called for when shaping and handling them.

Ingredients (I recommend weighing flours and water because the quantities involved are small):

• 50 g / 1.75 oz. chestnut flour
• 50 g / 1.75 oz. all-purpose flour
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• 55 g / 2 oz. lukewarm water (I recommend weighing the water)
• 2 tablespoons roasted red pepper and almond dip

Make a dough with the first four ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, covered, for half an hour or so.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the gnocchetti. Roll each piece into a pencil-size snake (3/8 inch / 1 cm thick), then cut into 1 cm / 3/8 inch long pieces. Shape each small piece into a gnocchetto using a gnocchi board or other method (see above). Place a piece of dough on the board, apply to it some pressure with either your thumb or your index finger and drag it on the board to curl it. The resulting gnocchetto will have grooves on the convex surface and a nice nook on the other side. If you use your thumb, the board handle points towards you and the dragging motion is away from you. If you use your index finger, the board faces you and the dragging motion is towards you.

Lay out the gnocchetti to dry.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the gnocchetti in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). They will come to the surface as they cook. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of the gnocchetti, how dry they are, etc., but it is relatively short. Don't wander far away from the pot, so you can carefully check the process.

While the pasta is cooking, place the red pepper dip in a bowl and add 1/2 tablespoon or so of the pasta cooking water to soften it (adjusting the quantity based on the density of the dip). Drain the pasta and transfer it into the bowl with the sauce. Stir well with a delicate touch. Plate and serve immediately. The recipe makes two small portions.

This is my contribution to the second edition of Pasta Please, a new pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by Lisa of We Don't Eat Anything With A Face. The theme this month is: peppers. 

This post contains the roundup of the event.

This post goes to Pantry Party, an event created by Elizabeth of The Law Student's Cookbook whose February theme is pasta. (My handmade pasta does not come from the pantry, but the flour(s) I use to make the dough do.)

This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is my contribution to edition #71 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Shruthi of Food & Clicks.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia (using Lightroom preset Sepia Tone).

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

gnocchetti alla farina di castagne

or launch the gnocchetti alla farina di castagne audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

handmade pasta, chestnut flour, sweet pepper

Comments

[martissima]

che bella la prima foto, tenera come gli gnocchi stessi. Mi ero persa i gnocchetti sardi e me li sono salvati!! bello vederti al lavoro ^___^

[Lisa@FacelessFood]

Wow, they look amazing! Thanks for linking up :-)

[Simona Carini]

Grazie Martissima: mi fa piacere che la foto ti piaccia. Gli gnocchetti sia in versione originale che in questa di oggi sono davvero carini e con l'aiuto dell'arnesino si fanno anche abbastanza in fretta. Certo, un po' di pazienza ci vuole, dal momento che vanno formati uno per volta.

Thanks, Lisa. Glad you like their look.

[Sally]

Simona, I want to try these next. Today I am making your gnocchetti with semolina flour to test drive my skills--I am teaching a class next week and gnocchetti are on the menu (!) There's an old adage that if you want to learn something well, teach it. So I will be practicing all day today--a good project as we endure more snow. The chestnut flour gnocchetti sound delicious, especially paired with your red pepper sauce. I wish you were my neighbor!

[Katie]

This is the second recipe using chestnut flour today - I wish I could find it! I love pepper sauce, too - it all looks perfect!

[Paz]

This was a fun video to watch. I first learned about chestnut flour from Ilva. I've always wanted to prepare a dish with it. I like your sepia-colored photos.

[Lynne]

I loved watching you form the gnocchetti! Perfect pasta and lovely in sepia. The repurposed red pepper and almond dip looks very tasty!

[Simona Carini]

Hi Sally. Good luck with your gnocchetti session. I see the wisdom of the adage. What else is on the menu? I taught a pasta class last December and it was quite instructive. I'll teach it again in April: it is all about pasta with semolina flour. I also wish we were neighbors! (I suggest you move here: there is no snow to plow ;)

Hi Katie. The chestnut flour I used for the most recent batch of the gnocchetti actually comes from France. A friend of mine mail-ordered a bunch and gave me a bag. I'll write you an email with the brand name.

Ciao Paz. Chestnut flour is used in making castagnaccio, a traditional Tuscan dish. I have actually never made it, though that was the reason I originally bought the flour. It's still in my wish list and one day I'll get to it.

Glad to read it, Lynne. I love the dip and totally recommend it, if and when you have nice sweet red peppers. I actually just made some today, a variation of the original recipe, using roasted peppers I froze last fall. On a gray day like today, seeing something bright red in the kitchen cheers me up.

[Frank @Memorie di Angelina]

I'm really attracted by the idea of using chestnut flour to make pasta. The flavor must be fabulous—I could see it with just some butter and sage and sprinking of cheese, but the red pepper spread sounds lovely as well. Summer and winter meet...

[diary of a tomato]

These look so delectable, I want to gobble them up one by one!

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Frank. I hope you get to try: the chestnut flour gives a nice nutty flavor to pasta.

Thank you, Debra! I wish I could send you some via email ;)

[My Italian Smörgåsbord]

amazing. I still have 1 kg of chestnut flour I have not used. but where can I find the little thingy to give the shape to the gnocchetti? or is there another method? ps: slowly coming back to life again, gee have been missing blogging and all this.

[Simona Carini]

So good to hear from you, Barbara. I was indeed wondering what kept you away from blogging. To shape potato gnocchi, I've always used the back of a cheese grater, but I make these gnocchetti quite small, so the board is more efficient. As I mentioned in my email, let me know if you cannot find it and we'll figure out something.

[Julia]

This looks delicious! Im really so impressed with your gnocchi!! cant wait to try out your recipe!

[Simona Carini]

Thank you so much, Julia, for your kind words.