Let's talk about cooking with children. It’s a great way to share family recipes, excite children about healthy eating and, most importantly, spend quality time at home.
Some of my favorite memories are of cooking with my kids. It’s not always easy and is almost always a mess, but it is fun. Try to see it as a craft project that you can eat when you’re done.
Today, we’re going to learn how to make gnocchi - Italian soft-dough dumplings.
You will not need fancy equipment or exotic ingredients. We’ll start with a basic gnocchi recipe that serves 3. Feel free to double up the ingredients depending on the size of your family.
Servings: 3
8 ounces ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 cup of flour
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
Preparation
Everybody participating should wash his or her hands. Have your kid(s) measure out the flour and put it into a large bowl. It works well to use a smaller measuring device so they can take turns and get more hands-on time.
I use a small 1/8 cup so they each get four turns. Have them crack the eggs in a separate bowl so you can pick out the broken pieces of shell.
Measure and add the rest of the ingredients. This part can be done in a Kitchen Aid, but it's more fun to have them stir it themselves.
Mix all of the ingredients together until they form a dough ball. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. When you remove it from the fridge, feel it to see how tacky it is. If it’s sticking to you, work in a little flour at a time until it's workable.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Now, this is where it gets interesting. Put a bowl of flour out for dusting. Your kids will grab it by the handful, and your kitchen will be covered in flour. I explained to my girls what I was taught in baking class - you never take more flour than you can grab with your thumb and two fingers.
My chef called it the Trinity; you can call it Larry, Moe and Curly; Anna, Elsa and Olaf or whatever you like. Lightly dust your work surface. Cut the dough into as many pieces as you have kids and adults making this. Lightly flour your dough balls, and gently roll each into a ¾-inch tube. Don’t worry if they look like flattened snakes; they will still work. Try to remember that they are kids, not chefs.
Direct them to cut their dough into ¾-inch pieces. Please, do not give your children a knife. You can use a bench scraper, spatula or spoon, or they can just use their hands. At this point, at least one of the kids will try to eat the dough. Don’t let them; it has raw egg in it.
You can run the gnocchi over the tines of a fork to put grooves on them. This is not necessary, but it is fun. Place the gnocchi on a floured plate or sheet pan.
At this point, your kids' hands will be caked with dough. Have them rub flour in their hands to aid in the removal of the dough.
Put the gnocchi in the pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes. Strain and serve with your favorite sauce. We usually toss them in a little melted butter with peas and top with Parmesan cheese. Good luck and enjoy.