These little dumplings are easy to make with your sourdough discard, and they are great in soups or with the cheese sauce I'm posting below. The gnocchi are soft and have a slight sourdough tang, making them better than the usual fairly bland gnocchi. The little dumplings really don't take long to mix up thanks to instant mashed potato flakes in the dough. I usually make the gnocchi early in the day when I feed my sourdough starter, then let them sit out on waxed paper until I'm ready to do something with them. The gnocchi won't rise much, so don't worry. If you want to use the gnocchi right away, that's fine, too. I like the gnocchi in a cheese sauce with bacon--sort of like macaroni and cheese, but with gnocchi instead of the macaroni. If you want to serve the dish as a main course, add some ham instead of the bacon for more protein. Either way the gnocchi dumplings are good comfort food. Enjoy!
Sourdough Potato Gnocchi Dumplings -- Makes About 5 Dozen Dumplings
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1 large egg
1/2 cup of warm water (not hot)
1 cup of instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt (depending on your salt tolerance)
1/2 cup of flour, plus 1/4 - 1/2 cup to knead
In a large bowl combine the starter/discard, egg, and warm water and stir/whisk them together until they are smooth. Stir in the mashed potato flakes, the salt, and 1/2 cup of flour until thoroughly mixed. Knead the dough for a few minutes, adding a little extra flour to prevent the dough from being too sticky to handle. Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces and roll the pieces into long ropes about 1-inch in diameter. Cut the ropes into pieces about an inch or so long. You can roll the gnocchi/dumpling pieces down the tines of a fork turned over to create the characteristic gnocchi lines. Alternatively, you can just mash the gnocchi a little with a fork after you cut them. Lay the gnocchi on a piece of waxed paper after you cut them. When you are ready to cook the gnocchi, which can be immediately or later in the day, bring a big pot of water to a boil and add a teaspoon of salt to it. Add the gnocchi--about 15 or so at a time--to the pot and let them cook a few minutes, stirring them gently a few times, until they float. After they float, cook the gnocchi another 3-5 minutes (turn down the heat a little if the water boils too hard--you want a gentle, not a hard boil) and then remove them from the pot and place them in a bowl or dish while you repeat the cooking process with the remaining gnocchi. Add the cooked gnocchi to the following sauce:
Cheese Sauce for Gnocchi/Dumplings
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of flour
1 1/2 cups of milk (cold)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 - 3 tablespoons of bacon crumbles
1/2 cup of grated Swiss/Gruyere cheese
Parsley, optional
In a large skillet or chef's pan melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture for a minute or two, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and keep whisking gently for 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the whisk or the back of a spoon. Stir in the bacon crumbles and the cheese. Add in the gnocchi/dumplings and stir them to coat them well with the sauce. Turn off the heat and sprinkle on the parsley, if you're using it.
