Potato-Spinach Dumplings: Njoki or Gnocchi, Not Just For Italians!

Gnocchi have been on my mind.

I have been reading a wonderful "food-and-roots" memoir called The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken, by food writer Laura Schenone, who sets out to find the authentic version of her Italian-American family ravioli recipe. Along the way, she provides a couple of recipes for gnocchi.

So, when it came time to plan my Week 42 Dinner, her book got me thinking.  I knew Slovenians also made gnocchi.  They call them njoki.

I found a recipe in my newest cookbook, borrowed from the library of the Slovenian Hall in San Francisco: Slovenian Cookery (1996, 2001) by a top Slovenian chef named Slavko Adamlje.  In English, the dish is called potato and spinach dumplings.

The recipe looked good, especially with that rich gouda and gorgonzola sauce. Then I remembered that our friend Marie, whose background is Portuguese and Italian, had recently sent me a recipe for  gnocchi.  When I checked, her recipe (for the dumplings, not the sauce) was very similar. And she used American measures.

In adapting the Slovenian recipe, I got a little mixed up with the metric conversions.  I should have used more spinach and less flour, I suspect.  This was my first-ever attempt at gnocchi, so it was all uncharted territory.

But it all worked out in the end.  Read on!  

Potato and Spinach Dumplings (Njoki) with Gorgonzola-Gouda Sauce

1 c. mashed potatoes (you will need 2 potatoes)
¾ lb. fresh trimmed spinach (2 small bunches), cooked and minced
1 c. white wheat flour
1/3 c. semolina flour
1 egg
dash of salt
dash of pepper
nutmeg, freshly grated
fresh basil, 2 t. minced

Sauce:

2 c. milk
2 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 oz. smoked gouda, cut in cubes
1 oz. parmesan, grated
salt, pepper, basil to taste
1 t. corn or potato starch


For the potatoes: I began with 2 large Idaho potatoes, cut in chunks and boiled. After cooking, peel and mash, using as little of the cooking liquid as possible. Measure out one cup, saving the leftovers if desired.

(Some recipes suggest this method, to keep the potatoes as dry as possible:  Bake or microwave the potatoes. Then mash them and  spread out on a platter to dry.)

Cook spinach and press out excess water. Chop finely.

Mix all the ingredients together.  Knead, adding more flour to make a soft dough.  (I had to add quite a bit more flour.)   Form into ball.  Let rest for a half hour.

Divide dough into 4 pieces.  Roll on floured board into ropes, about the thickness of a finger.  Cut into ¾ inch pieces.  Press each with thumb or mark with tines of a fork.  (This is to allow sauce to collect better. ) Place pieces on a pan lined with waxed paper.

Cook in boiling salted water, not too many at once,  for about 20 minutes or until the dumplings float to the top.  Drain and coat with olive oil.

For the sauce:  Heat milk.  Add cheeses and seasonings.  Stir to let melt.  Add corn or potato starch to thicken.

To serve: top with sauce and add some fresh tomato relish (my husband's adaptation) on the side.


Tomato Relish

fresh tomatoes, cut up
lemon juice
olive oil
fresh basil
pumpkin seeds
salt and pepper

The Verdict:

These gnocchi were good.  Perhaps a little more dense than they might have been.  The sauce was amazing!

It was a good and simple meal, in a labor intensive kind of way.

All in all, one of my most successful dinners!

Slovenian Dinner Week 38: Turkey Cevapcici and Tuna Tomato Salad, A Healthy Summer Meal for a Hot Fall Day

Menu
Turkey Cevapcici
Tuna and Tomato Salad
Whole Wheat Pita
Ajvar and Greek Yogurt

Fall in the San Francisco Bay Area can feel like August.  This was one of those days.  It was early October, but we were having a heat wave.  By mid-afternoon, the temperature would be over 90 degrees.

“Maybe we should grill outside,” my husband suggested, as he headed off to work in the still-cool morning.

Maybe.  It was definitely a day for cooking light and avoiding the oven at all costs.

I was torn between two entrees.  Cevapcici had become my tried-and-true favorite for grilling.  I had made it three times so far. But I had never made a healthy light version with turkey, so maybe this was a good time to give it a try.

But I had just found the perfect summer entree salad in my latest cookbook:  Slovenian Cookery by  Slavko Adamlje, published in Ljubljana in 2001. I had spotted this book in the library at San Francisco's Slovenian Hall, where we had just attended the yearly grape harvest festival, or Trgatev.

The salad was a refreshing mixture of  tuna, tomatoes, peppers, peas, and basil.  This had to be an example of the “modern” style of Slovenian cooking I had read about.  I liked the idea of shopping for all those nice fresh vegetables at the organic produce market just around the corner.

Since I couldn't choose between these two tempting summer dishes, I decided to make them both.

One thing I did know:  We would be opening a bottle of imported Slovenian wine my husband had bought at the grape festival.  It was a nice Pinot Noir called Mea Culpa.

Tuna and Tomato Salad (adapted from Slovenian Cookery, by Slavko Adamlje)

2 c. sliced assorted peppers
2 c. sliced tomatoes
½ c. freshly shelled English peas, cooked and cooled
¼ c. fresh basil, sliced
1 large can Italian tuna in oil, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing: Olive or safflower oil, rice vinegar, 1 t. pumpkin seed oil, 1 clove garlic, salt and pepper

To cook peas: Cook in ½ inch of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes, or until crisp but tender.  Drain and cool.

Mix peas with remaining salad ingredients.

Make dressing, using quantities of oil and vinegar you prefer.  Toss dressing with salad. Refrigerate before serving.

Turkey Cevapcici

1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg white, lightly mixed with fork
4 small cloves garlic (or 2 large), minced
1 t. salt
2 t. black pepper, freshly ground
1 t. cayenne pepper
½ t. smoked paprika
½ c. minced onion
2 T. bread crumbs, combined with 1 t. baking soda

I adapted this recipe from a version I found on the Internet.  The bread crumbs were my own addition, since the ground turkey seemed too liquid-y to be easily shaped into those little skinny sausage shapes.

For detailed directions about how to prepare, shape, and grill cevapcici, see my earlier posts, here or here or here.  Remember that it is best to mix the meat in advance and let sit in the refrigerator for flavors to meld, before shaping. And be sure to use the traditional toppings: ajvar (red pepper relish) and Greek yogurt, a healthy substitute for kajmak.

The verdict?

The tuna salad was good, but a little mild, at least for my taste.  Next time, I might use a stronger vinegar.  The tomatoes I used seemed watery.  My husband suggested that I should have seeded them first. But he thought the salad was just fine.  It was certainly a light, healthy dish.

The turkey cevapcici recipe was a pleasant surprise.  I was afraid it would be too mild, or that the poultry flavor might be obvious.  But it wasn't.  I noticed that this recipe was more peppery, and heavier on the garlic, than my previous versions.  If the goal was to disguise the turkey, it worked.

And the Slovenian wine was the perfect final touch!