Potato Gnocchi

It all began with a craving for crab cakes. The craving led to potatoes, because I like to use potato puree in my crab cakes. The crab cakes were made with homemade bread crumbs because I couldn't wait for the potatoes to finish baking for my original recipe.  Our recent experiments with starch led us to revisit the famous potato cooking method, well publicized by Jeffrey Steingarten, with Yukon golds that were originally purchased for another purpose. The combination of potato puree+ricotta cheese+YG Activa+Pacojet proved to be irresistible.  The ricotta both enriches the potatoes and enables the YG to cross link the proteins in the cheese, thus holding the gnocchi together.

What we have here are potato gnocchi that could arguably be considered better than the original. They are light, fluffy, flavorful, and almost idiot proof. What more could you ask for in a single delicious bite?

Here they are paired with juicy sauteed pears, sage, and Cantal cheese. The gnocchi and the pears are very close to each other in texture and it is quite an experience to sink your teeth into two similar and yet very different morsels of food. The flavors explode in your mouth and are nicely offset by the soothing textures against your tongue. These gnocchi are simply delicious and the newest addition to our permanent repertoire.