Gorgonzola Stuffed Gnocchi

The original post was published two years ago and I thought that this dish deserved an update....

On our vacation in Key West, we tried to vary the types of restaurants were we ate dinner and towards the end of the week I was craving Italian.
There was this little place on Duval Street with front row window seats to the parade that walks endlessly up and down that street. While The Nudge thought that was the best part of his dinner, I had, hands down, the BEST gnocchi ever!!

They were stuffed with a small piece of blue cheese, like a baby ravioli. Took me five months to replicate them but when I did, I hit it right on the mark.

I served them with a steak in a port sauce, but these would work with any sauce you chose. See the bleu cheese when you cut into them?

The key to stuffing a gnocchi is to line the pillows up on a board, and using a melon baller or round teaspoon measuring spoon, press down to make an indent and add a Gorgonzola crumble.

Yes, they have preservatives and yes, that goes against my grain also, but that actually makes them easier to work with when stuffing a piece into a gnocchi. Very good blue cheese will melt in your fingers, making it impossible to use. Gorgonzola is lower in sugar and average compared to other cheeses. My thought is get the best bang for the nutrition that you can. Buying indulgent ingredients with huge flavors will allow you to use less while still getting that big bang of flavor. It is a fact that we tend to eat more bland foods to satisfy our taste buds and that is not necessarily a good thing.

Roll each gnocchi in the palms of your hands as you would a meatball and place them on a sheet of parchment paper.
Gnocchi can be made a day or month ahead. Freeze them on a sheet pan and then put them into a freezer bag. Make plenty, pull what you need and throw them into salted boiling water right before serving. I would not suggest storing them in the fridge longer then 1 few hours, as they tend to get gummy and adding more flour is not an option. We want them as light as air.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Gnocchi
Makes about 100 gnocchi

* 1 1/2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
* 2 eggs
* 3/4 cup chickpea flour
* 1/2 cup AP flour + extra for the board
* Blue cheese crumbles

1. Mix the potatoes with the eggs until combined. Add flours and mix until almost combined.
2. Roll dough onto floured board and knead in as much flour as it takes to not stick in your hands.
It should have the texture of a wet cement. Little bubbles all over.
3. Cut the dough into 1 " thick slabs and roll that into a 1" rope.
Cut that into 1" pieces and using a 1/4 teaspoon, indent each piece.
4. Drop one crumble into each intent and roll them like a meatball, making sure there are no large cracks.
5. Poach them in gently simmering water until they float to the top. Spoon some sauce on them and serve immediately.