Pasta lovers will love this one—here the Sardinian version of gnocchi, called ladeddos, is accented with a touch of mint. This Sardinian custom is not something American chefs have fully adopted but should; mint adds a unique, fresh element to savory dishes. The traditional gnocchi is made with flour, potatoes, eggs, and some cheese, but ladeddos are more simply prepared with potatoes, semolina, and salt.
2 pounds potatoes, peeled (Yukon gold work well, but any will do)
4 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups semolina flour
11⁄4 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Quick and Chunky Tomato Sauce
Bring a salted pot of water to a boil.
Boil potatoes until half tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain and let cool.
Rice the potatoes with a potato ricer or masher in a medium bowl.
Add flour, semolina, and salt and knead to combine thoroughly into a smooth, firm dough that should not be too sticky.
Roll the dough into snakes, about 1 inch thick, and cut into 1-inch pieces.
Bring another pot of water to a boil; drop pasta into boiling water and cook until the pieces float to the top, about 4 minutes.
Drain, toss with mint and olive oil, and serve with tomato sauce.
Pro tip: Simmer sauce in a separate pan while the gnocchi cooks.
After you drain the gnocchi, immediately add it to the simmering sauce for about 30 seconds; this melds the sauce to the gnocchi.
The Blue Zones Kitchen fuses scientific reporting, National Geographic photography and 100 recipes that may help you live to 100. The Blue Zones’ food tradition is going the way of the dodo bird, thanks to the encroachment of the American Food Culture.
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