Lick n' Tell

Last month i was invited for a luncheon with Poh Ling Yeow, TV-personality, runner up of first season of Australian Masterchef and a host of “Poh’s Kitchen”.

She cooked up this Gnocchi recipe that is really simple and easy to do, so i just thought that it’s fair to share this recipe with all of you. It’s a really quick and simple dish but it tasted so good especially when you can get the ingredients fresh and right.

Gnocchi with Tomato & Basil Sauce

serves 6

Gnocchi:

• 1kg Dutch Cream or Kipfler Potatoes, Boiled then mashed through a ricer.
• 200gr Plain Flour
• 1 large Egg
• 1 tsp Salt
• 100g Parmesan Cheese (real ones! not powdered Kraft’s)
• Water (to adjust the consistency)

1. Mixed in mashed potatoes with flour, egg, salt and cheese in large bowl, gently knead until it’s just combined. It should have a playdough-like texture and not stick to your hand.
2. dust the kitchen bench lightly with flour, roll out the gnocchi dough into about 1cm diameter long tubes. Cut 1.5-2cm sections of the dough and rest aside.
3. In large pot, boil plenty of water with salt. Toss the gnocchi into the boiling water. The gnocchi will float to the surface when it’s fully cooked, gently scoop it out and toss it into the tomato sauce gently.

Tomato & Basil Sauce

• 2kg Vine-Ripened (Truss) Tomatoes, Blanched, Skinned, de-seed and diced
• Olive Oil
• 8 cloves of Garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• a handful of fresh Basil Leaves (hand torn)
• black pepper and salt to taste

1. in a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant.
2. pour in the diced tomatoes, salt and sugar. bring the sauce to boil.
3. lower the heat then allow it to simmer until the sauce thickens into a desired consistency.
4. mix in the torn Basil leaves, simmer for another minute or two. Season the sauce.

A note from Poh:

“This is THE best pasta sauce, ever, as it’s so simple, versatile and just delicious. You can use it with any store-bought pasta and with a bit of parmigiano-reggiano grated over the top, it’s one of my favourite meals. when you reduced the sauce further, you will have a perfect pizza sauce.

here i’ve paired it with gnocchi, which is one of those things people always bang on about being hard to master, but it’s not the case at all. the most common problem is they aren’t sure about the texture of gnocchi which is soft potato pillows with just enough flour to bind. they key is minimal handling. bind all the ingredients together but dont over knead it or the gluten will develop and makes it bouncy. once you build familiarity and instinct with the tactile qualities of what good gnocchi dough should feel like, you’ll also understand what being a good cook is all about - tasting, feeling and observing.”

Catch Poh in action on “Poh’s Kitchen” every Monday 7PM (Singapore Time) on TLC. Check your local Cable subscribers for more details.