I had promised myself that before the end of the summer season, I would take advantage of the last eggplants to make homemade gnocchi! Just yesterday morning, the day was perfect, the classic dreary and gray Sunday at the end of September, leaving little room for day trips or a nice and pleasant walk by the sea. While I heard the rain tapping on the window, I rolled up my sleeves and put on my beautiful kitchen apron to make my Sunday lunch. I love making gnocchi, it relaxes me a lot, and they always turn out very well, so much so that I also made them with pumpkin (HERE the recipe). But today I will teach you how to prepare those made with eggplant pulp. I make them without adding eggs, to be clear, many use 1 yolk as a binder in the dough, but if, like me, you prefer simplicity and lightness, use a potato instead of the egg, and you’re ready!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients:
- 3 Medium Eggplants (about 1.65 lbs)
- 1 Potato
- 9.88 oz All-purpose flour (+ as needed for the work surface)
- 1 pinch Salt
Instructions:
Wash and dry the eggplants; cut them in half, remove the stems, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add the washed, peeled potato, cut into 4 pieces. Cook them at 392°F for 50 minutes, turning them every 15 minutes. Once cooked, peel the eggplants, mash them with a potato masher*, and work them in a bowl with the potato. Gradually add the flour and a pinch of salt (fig. 1).
Initially work the dough with a fork, then proceed with your hands (fig. 2)
You should obtain a soft dough (fig. 3).
Flour the work surface and gradually take parts of the dough; cut into ropes about 0.8 inches thick, from which you will make the gnocchi (fig. 4).
Roll them on a gnocchi board, applying light pressure with your thumb or index finger to obtain the classic shape (fig. 5).
As you prepare the potato gnocchi, place them on a lightly floured tray, well-spaced from each other (fig. 6).
If you intend to cook them, plunge them into boiling salted water; as soon as they float, drain them with a slotted spoon and season to taste. I prepared them with a fresh cherry tomato sauce and fresh basil leaves. And there you go, your eggplant gnocchi are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from FeFè’s kitchen!
*IMPORTANT: When pressing the eggplant in the potato masher, try to press to remove excess water without letting the pulp out. The best method to achieve this is to turn the masher upside down to ease the liquid out of the vegetable. Repeat the operation 2-3 times to ensure it’s completely removed. This phase is very important for the success of the gnocchi.
Storage advice: you can prepare the gnocchi a couple of days in advance and then freeze them, in which case place the tray in the freezer and after 24 hours, place the potato gnocchi in a food bag. To cook them, it will be sufficient to throw them in boiling salted water without defrosting them first.
