Little bites of Joy: Pan Fried Gnocchi

First off, I need to thank Jaden from Steamy Kitchen for inspiring me to make this dish. It was her pan-fried lemon ricotta gnocchi that got me going. When i saw the beautiful golden crisp edge of each gnocchi on her plate, I just HAD to try it out. I have never pan fried gnocchis before and I was just dying to try it out, just to feel how "beautiful Italian's luscious lips" tastes like! :P

One of the best things about keeping a food blog, in my humble opinion, is how it can inspire people to cook, bake and open up their mind to trying new food. And yesterday, the simple humble gnocchi from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen did it for me.

My gnocchi follows the traditional recipe with the inclusion of mash potatoes but only because I did not have ricotta cheese. (Read up on the gnocchi wiki link, to learn more).

But this gnocchi recipe is kinda special, it includes zests of citruses, which gives it a wonderful burst of flavor before it is pan-fried in butter and olive oil. My version is a little different, not only did i not use ricotta, I used orange and lime zest and juice to complete my pan-fried gnocchi :)

Here's how my version called Citrusy Pan Fried Gnocchi go:

Gnocchi Dough:
2 medium russet potatoes, boiled till soft and save about 1/2 cup of its potato water
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 orange (reserve a bit for sprinkling)
zest of 1 lime (reserve a bit for sprinkling)
Method:
1. Combine citrus zest, flour, salt and Parmesan in a bowl and whisk together until all the ingredients are blended together. Set aside.
2. Mash potatoes until it is creamy in a big bowl. This is quite important for that soft, smooth texture. After that, you can start adding your flour mixture, eggs into the mash potato. Add potato water bit by bit until you have a soft but manageable dough. It is going to be a soft dough because of the mash potatoes but it will be fine with some extra flour on the side get thing going.
3. Knead the dough into a roll and pull a bit of dough out and start rolling it into a long dough stick.
4. Cut them into about 1.5 cm pieces and set them on a well floured plate until it's ready to be pan fried.

In its various shapes

Pan Frying your Gnocchis:
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method:
1. Heat pan in medium heat with butter and olive oil until butter is slightly brown and add your gnocchi in. Make sure you have one layer of gnocchi. Don't overcrowd the pan; do it in two batches if you have to...:)
2. Cook each side of the gnocchi about 2 minutes - 3 minutes on each side. When you get the golden brown on each side of the gnocchis, it's done. Serve it on a plate.

Lime and Orange Jus:
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 Orange
1 clove of garlic, sliced thinly
1.5 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil

Method:
1. Heat the same buttered pan with olive oil, add your garlic and saute until it is slightly browned and add the sugar, lime and orange juice in.
2. Let it simmer and reduce by half. Drizzle it ontop of your pan fried gnocchi.
Sprinkle some lime zest, orange zest, parmesan and red chili flakes (optional) before grabbing your fork! :)