Dinner at Jack's by Rick R. Reed

Author:Rick R. Reed [Reed, Rick R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2019-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13: Jackson’s Spicy Gnocchi

I don’t remember the name of it, but I can see it in my mind’s eye—the pillowy gnocchi in a plain white pasta dish, glistening with olive oil and dotted with red pepper flakes. I recalled Jackson saying, after he’d eaten every bite, that he wanted to lick the bowl. It was that good. I asked our waiter for the recipe, and he grinned at me and told me he couldn’t give away Soldano family secrets. He then winked and explained the few simple ingredients that went into the dish. Armed with those, I knew I could do a pretty good recreation, even if I didn’t have exact measurements. In my world, measuring when cooking is for wusses. You eyeball and taste—that’s measuring. Baking, of course, is a whole ‘nother story, because baking is a science. Cooking is an art.

If this didn’t rock Jackson’s world, he really had become someone else. I don’t know what Soldano’s called the dish, but I would call it (unimaginatively):

* * * *

Jackson’s Spicy Gnocchi

8 oz. potato gnocchi

1/4 cup good olive oil, more or less

3 large garlic cloves, minced

3 anchovy filets

1 t red pepper flakes, more or less

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/4 cup pasta cooking water

Salt and pepper to taste (seriously—to taste! With the salty anchovies and the red pepper, you may not need either)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add plenty of salt when you first see bubbles appear.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in olive oil and allow it to get warmed up, a couple of minutes. Throw in your minced garlic and lower the heat. Allow the garlic to simmer and become aromatic, but be careful that it doesn’t begin to brown—you don’t want that bitterness. Add in the anchovy filets and cook for a couple more minutes. You should be able to break up the filets with a wooden spoon, and they should magically vanish into the garlic-flavored oil. Trust me, this will not taste fishy. Throw in your red pepper flakes.

Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook until they rise to the surface of the water. Do not overcook! This will only take a couple of minutes. Remove from water with a strainer and set aside. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water you cooked the gnocchi in.

At this point, you can dump the gnocchi in the pan with the seasoned olive oil. Toss pasta to coat with the oil and add your Parmesan. Toss some more, so every gnocchi is coated.

Add in your reserved pasta water a little at a time. You want to loosen up the sauce a bit with this, make it creamier. Your eye will guide you when to stop adding water. You won’t need the whole 1/4 cup.

Serve hot. Serves 4.

* * * *

I know. I know. I can hear you thinking—how can something so simple be so special? Doesn’t a “special” dish take all day and a dozen or more ingredients? And all I have to say

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