Gnocchi di Patate

Gnocchi (pronounced: 'nyoki') are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour, egg and cheese, potato, breadcrumbs or similar ingredients. They are generally home-made in Italian households. They may also be bought fresh from specialty stores. Packaged gnocchi are widely available refrigerated, dried, or frozen. Common accompaniments of gnocchi include tomato sauces, pesto, and melted butter with cheese.

Ingredients (serves 4)
For Gnocchi
6-7 medium potatoes freshly boiled
1/2 cup rice flour (little less or more)
1/2 tsp salt (according to taste)

For Tomato Sauce
4-5 medium tomatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
1 pod of garlic (optional)
1 tsp butter/olive oil or any oil
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp basil leaves chopped
Salt to taste

Method
For Gnocchi
Peel & mash/grate the potatoes as soon as you can after boiling. This helps mashed potatoes to loose more moisture while cooling after being mashed.
Mix the mashed potatoes with rice flour & salt and work the mixture into a dough. Try not to use too much flour.
Make long rolls of the dough and cut into small pieces.
Now either flatten the balls with the back of a fork or use a ridged board, to give gnocchi their shape.
In a separate pot, boil water with salt. When water starts boiling, put the gnocchi in & as soon as they starts to float, take them out with slotted spoon. Keep aside.

For Tomato Sauce
Heat the butter in a pan, add the onion & garlic and sauté till the onion turns translucent.
Add the tomatoes and sauté till very soft.
Cool this & blend in a mixer. Strain the mixture to get a thick purée.
Put the purée back on fire. Add basil, salt, chilli flakes & 1/2 Parmesan and mix well. Bring the sauce to a boil. Keep aside.

Plating
Just before you want to serve, mix the cooked Gnocchi with sauce and serve it with remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Tips
Test one gnocchi by boiling it in water. If the gnocchi breaks, you may need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour in the gnocchi dough.
Cooked gnocchi can be stored in freezer for later use.
You can use same amount of maida or plain flour in place of rice flour, while making gnocchi.
You can add 2 tbsp of spinach purée in gnocchi dough to make spinach gnocchi.
You can also toss the gnocchi in any other sauce of your choice.

Chocolate Pound Cake With Tofu

Lovely recipe from chefinyou.com .... Pureed tofu not only blends so well with this pound cake but also adds protein ... I’m going to bake it very often as everyone in family loved it ... Thank you DK of chefinyou.com :)

Ingredients (serves 12)

2 cups maida (Plain Flour)

1 cup sugar

1 cup + 1 tbsp butter

5 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup pureed silken tofu (firm)

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

½ cup milk (as required, to adjust batter to dropping consistency)

1 tbsp white chocolate chips

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease & dust the pan and keep aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder & salt thrice.

Cream the butter & sugar. Add vanilla essence & beat well.

Add pureed tofu & beat well till the mixture is well mixed.

Now add sifted flour mixture & milk alternately little by little and gently mix till well blended. Always end with flour.

Pour batter into pan, sprinkle white chocolate chips & bake for 35 to 40 minutes or till done.

Tips

-Measure the pureed tofu & NOT regular tofu and then puree it.

-Pureeing the tofu well until completely smooth is very important. A lump will spoil the texture of the end product.

-I pureed the tofu along with vanilla and ¼ cup milk.

-The cake in the picture has cracks on top so when I baked second batch I poured little water in a baking tray & then kept my cake tin in it & baked. The cake was smooth from top & only cracks visible were due to chocolate chips that I inserted in it.

-One of the things I have learnt in baking is never to over beat a batter, so I just mixed the flour gently but well. This gives the cake a soft & spongy texture.

-If you are making muffins then baking time will be less.

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins/Cake

These are soft & sweet and are very light, with a crumb so small and so moist that they melt in your mouth.  Enjoy with a cup of tea or a mug of coffee, to brighten up your morning.

Ingredients  (12 muffins)
3/4 cup maida
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil (or any vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/2 cup fresh cherries, halved and pitted
1/2 cup cream cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a muffin tin with baking cups.
Mix together milk, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar until sugar dissolves.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add to milk mixture & mix well.
Fold in the fresh cherries.
Divide batter evenly between baking cups, filling about 3/4 full.
Dollop a small spoonful on top of each muffin and swirl.
Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips
I made cream cheese at home by churning home made fresh cottage cheese (without whey) in mixer.
The muffins don't keep very long because they are so moist, so aim to consume them within 2 to 3 days.

Mango Cheese Cake

Fresh ripe mangoes are used to make this light and refreshing cheesecake. This is delightfully delicious dish and can be enjoyed by just about everyone.

Ingredients serve 8
Crust
1 cup graham cracker squares, crushed (or marie biscuits)
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

Filling
1 1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1 large ripe mango

For the Mango Glaze
1 mango (1/2 cup), peeled, chopped and pureed
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice

For Garnish
8 thin mango slices
Few mint leaves

Method
Crust
Preheat oven to 175 degree C.
Add broken graham crackers, sugar and butter to a food processor. Mix well until looks nicely crumbled, takes approx. 30 seconds.
Place graham cracker mix into a 9” pie plate, spread evenly and press down firmly.
Bake at 175 degree C for 6 minutes, on the medium rack.

For the Mango Glaze
Place all the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. When it begins to boil, reduce the flame and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. Allow to come to room temperature and then spread the glaze over the cheesecake with a spoon. Allow the glaze to set over the cheesecake for 2 to 3 hours or more before slicing it.  Allow the cheesecake to set for an hour or so before spreading the glaze over it.

Filling
Prepare mango by peeling and chopping into chunks.
Add mango chunks, cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch to the food processor. Mix for 20 seconds, until it is smooth in texture. Do not mix for too long.

How to proceed
Pour the mixture over the pie crust and bake for 35 minutes at 175 degrees C. The surface should look dry and cooked.
Let the cheesecake cool and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Pour glaze and garnish with mango slices.

Tips
If using Marie biscuits then reduce the amount of sugar in crust.
If transferred out of the oven too quickly, the cheesecake could crack so allow it to sit in the oven (turned off) for sometime
Adding a teaspoon of corn flour to the cheese cake batter prevents the cake from cracking.