Driven by both popular demand and the rain. Writes chef Matt Straus:
For the last four or five nights we’ve been serving potato gnocchi with fennel sausage and mushrooms and English peas and parmesan, and they’ll be here at least until Erin gets back in early April. The truth is that I really love making them.
Last night I was at the restaurant until the wee hours, making a double batch, and I was reminded of how, well, therapeutic a process it is. Mixing the dough is hugely sensual, because the milled potatoes should be warm, and finding the right measure of moisture before you start rolling is essential. Then the rolling itself, a tactile extravaganza of palms and fingertips and just the right amount of pressure, reminds me of how satisfying manual work can be. When I started making them last night I harbored all sorts of deep-seated anxieties and malevolent feelings towards everyone in the world, and by the time I was done I was completely cured.
This actually just makes us want to make gnocchi. Which is good, because Straus says that he may be teaching classes soon. Stay tuned….