BLACK OLIVE RESTAURANT RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, yeast, sugar, salt, black olives, olive oil, and water.
• Turn out dough onto a floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside, and let rise about 45 minutes, until it doubles in size. Punch down. Knead well again, for about 5 to 10 minutes. Let rise for about 30 minutes, until it doubles in size.
• Round the dough on kneading board. Place upside down in a bowl lined with a lint-free, well floured towel. Let rise until double in size.
• While the bread is rising for the third time, put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Gently turn loaf out onto a sheet pan that has been lightly oiled and dusted with cornmeal.
• Bake loaf at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake for 30 more minutes, or until done.

Steps:

• 1. Use potatoes of a fairly even size, as you’re going to cook them whole. Cook in a large pan of boiling salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender.
  2. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle, then remove the skins.
  3. Mash the potatoes using a potato ricer or masher on to a large clean board.
  4. Sprinkle over the flour, finely grate over half the nutmeg, season well with sea salt and black pepper, then scrunch and push the mixture together with clean hands. Depending on the potatoes, you may need to add a little more flour – use your common sense.
  5. Knead on a flour-dusted surface for a few minutes until pliable, then divide into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a sausage about 2cm thick.
  6. Slice into 3cm lengths – this is your basic gnocchi. Now you can gently roll each piece down a butter pat, the back of a fork or a fine grater to add grooves, which will help your sauce to stick, or simply roll into balls.
  7. Nonna Teresa cooked her gnocchi 2 portions at a time, as it’s so quick, and it also means they’re less likely to break up. Cook in a pan of boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes – as soon as they come up to the surface they’re ready.
  8. Remove with a slotted spoon and toss with melted butter and finely grated Parmesan, my Hero tomato sauce (or leftover sauce from a stew, which you can see in the picture), then finely grate over a little Parmesan, to serve. I also like to add a little dollop of pesto – homemade or jarred, it’s up to you.