Tia’s Taste of Italy
Potato Gnocchi in a Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves 4-5
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Lasagna Roll Ups
Serves 5-6
Prep: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Cacio e Pepe Pasta
Serves 4-5
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
Potato Gnocchi in a Tomato Cream Sauce
2 cups premade mashed potatoes, store bought or leftover
2 eggs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 ½ -2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Tomato cream sauce:
1-6oz can tomato paste
1 cup pasta water
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup grated parmesan
Lasagna Roll Ups
1 package long lasagna noodles
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 jar marinara sauce
1-16oz ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella , divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup parsley leaves, chopped
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Filling options:
2 cups frozen spinach ,thawed and squeezed dry
6 Premade meatballs, crumbled
Cacio e Pepe Pasta
2 ½ cups finely grated pecorino Romano, plus more for topping
2 tsp ground black pepper
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound spaghetti
Kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Potato Gnocchi in a Tomato Cream Sauce
In a large bowl, stir together mashed potatoes, eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper. Add 1 ½ cup flour and mix until combined, if mixture seems too wet add another ½ cup of flour. Should look like dough and come together in a ball. Dust surface with flour and roll into a log, 4 in by 7 in long. Cut into equal pieces, about 2 inches wide. If dough becomes sticky, dust lightly with more flour.
Roll pieces into long logs about an inch thick. Cut into little pillows about 1 inch. These little pillows should all be the same size, so they cook evenly. Can leave in this shape or using the back side of the fork, place pillow on the top of the prongs. Use your thumb and gently press down the form ridges. Ridges help the sauce stick to the gnocchi. Place on a light floured sheet tray and repeat with remaining dough.
Place in the refrigerator while boiling the water. Bring a large stock pot with water to boil, add salt.
In a large skillet add oil, when hot add grated onion and saute 3 to 5 minutes until translucent and soft. Meanwhile add gnocchi to boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stir constantly for the first minute while adding gnocchi, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
In the skillet with onion, add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup of the pasta water, until thick and not watery. Add ½ cup heavy cream, salt and pepper and stir until fully combined. Strain gnocchi into tomato cream sauce, and gently fold into the sauce. Add parmesan and serve immediately. with basil and more cheese. Serve.
Notes:
Using mashed potatoes saves over an hour of time, with cooking potatoes. Plus adds more flavor with than using just potatoes.
Gnocchi works with any type of sauce, tomato, pesto, butter sauce.
Tomato paste makes a robust flavor tomato sauce. Tomato paste is a concentrated tomato flavor.
When making a sauce for pasta, the sauce should be ready for pasta. You never want to have pasta cook before sauce is done.
Lasagna Roll Ups
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1 cup of marinara on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Cook lasagna noodles per package. Drain and rinse. Palce noodles on a sheet tray drizzle with a little oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup of mozzarella, parmesan, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper. Mix until combined.
Spread 3 heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the length of each lasagna noodle. Customize your roll up, top with either 1 crumbled meatball or 2 tablespoons of spinach. Roll up lasagna noodles, not too tight or filling will spill out.
Place rolls seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Top with remaining marinara sauce, and sprinkle more mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove foil during the last 5 minutes of baking.
Notes:
Lasagna freezes well. Bake, let cool completely and freeze.
Customized the filling, by adding any vegetables or proteins. Make it low carb/ gluten free by using thinly sliced eggplant.
This dish is great for the kids to help.
Full lasagna can take 60 minutes to bake, this takes 30 minutes.
Cacio e Pepe Pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When boiling, cook pasta according to package.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cheese and black pepper. Set aside.
In a large skillet on medium low heat, add butter and melt. Turn off heat. When pasta is cooked, then use tongs to quickly transfer pasta to skillet. Add ½ cup of pasta water, cheese and vigorously stir to melt the cheese and combine all ingredients. If pasta looks dry add another ¼ cup more water and stir.
Plate immediately, top with more cheese and serve.
Notes:
Pecorino Romano, and its many other forms, melts and becomes creamy when it meets heat and or water.
Pasta water is starchy and help loosen sauce or create a sauce
Pecorino is salty and nuttier than parmesan cheese.
