Guest piece by Jenny

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This piece is a bit different. I will be talking about the other side of the gangster lifestyle. The side of living with a gangster.
Being the other half of a gangster can be challenging. A lot of time you dont get to see your other half and their time if very valueable so you have to grab every moment you have and use it wisely.
The plus side it’s a great learning experience and I am learning new things everyday. Now a days I can’t go anywhere without spotting little things on the side of the road that can be picked to use in food, it’s drilled in my brain at this point. It can be frustrating at times though because I would have no idea what to do with them 😛
Although it’s hard to spend quality time alone, being even a somewhat accosiated with the gangster s is actually very fun. Getting up early is a pet peeve of mine but discovered going to the beach early on a winter morning picking clams is not only relaxing but calming and you feel better just getting the fresh air. Being able to see the demos they do is inspiring. You learn many simple tricks to make simple dishes look like you spent days making them 🙂 also having the receipts on the blog is handy to see and also having one at home is handy to experiment with the food I tried to make (he hadn’t got sick yet so I’m getting somewhere with the cooking i guess).
I couldn’t cook a thing 4 years ago. Not a thing. I burnt a boiled egg ( I still don’t know how) and made myself sick making a sandwich (it’s a skill I swear) I was a mess when it came to cooking, I swore that I wasnt made to cook. Since meeting a gangster things changed..I will make a full roast no question asked. He can now come home to cooked meal with out fear or any poising. Spices were scary, very scary I wouldn’t go near them. Now if I don’t have spices in my food I feel it’s not complete. Also making sauces from scratch adding in foraged goods is something I’m trying ( if 20 year old saw me now she be so proud). It’s actually a great feeling. My palette is being explored from all the explosive flavours, flavours in which I didn’t know exsisted. You can pick from the side of the road, found at the coast and generally around the place we just walk past to add in to dishes to make them perfect.
But the best thing about living with a gangster is seeing the progress and watching them learn as they progress forward. The joy when they discover new things to work into dishes, new plants just outside the door they can use and the general excitement within their careers , it’s inspiring …but also living with a gangster I get to try all the yummy treats and test new food, who doesn’t want that 😛
Thank you gangsters for showing me anyone can cook if you put your mind to it.

Gnocchi by Max

Handmade Gnocchi

 

1Kg Rooster potato
300 grams plain flour
50 grams semolino flour
1 egg
salt

Method :

Put the potatoes in a pot with cold water
add a spoon of salt
bring the water to boil temperature and live boil for 15/20 minutes
check the potatoes with toothpick if it go in easy they are ready !!
Drain the potatoes and peel it when are hot,
Smash the potatoes with the masher on a wood board, leave until the mash is cold.
At this point we begin to make the dough
Add a generous pinch of salt all over the mash, make an hole in the middle and open in it the egg,
pour half of the plain flour all over the mash and start mix it with the hands,
when all the flour is absorbed keep add the rest of the plain flour gradually until the dough is no stick any more.
Live the dough to rest 5 minutes on a cotton cloth previously sprinkled with semolino flour.
Clean the board and sprinkle it with plain flour.
Now we start making Gnocchi,
cut a slice of dough and roll it with the hands on the board until you make a long sausage dough with the diameter around 1 centimeter,
now get a sharp knife and start cut the sausage in a piece long around 2 centimeters and sprinkle all over the semolino flour.
At this point we only need the shape for the gnocchi, to do that get a fork put one of the cylinder of dough and with a thumb press gently on it and let it slide on the fork, sprinkle all over with semolino flour.
Your gnocchi are done!!

How to cook :

Bring to boil a pot of water,
add salt,
add a drop of seed oil to avoid the gnocchi stick together.
Put the gnocchi in the boiling water and when they come on float are ready!!!
drain and toss in your favorite sauce.
*Note “it is advisable to cook the gnocchi not all together but roughly two full hands of them per time”

Buon Appetito