Recipe: Breadcrumb Gnocchi

When life gives you stale bread...

Here’s the thing about good bread: it’s designed to be eaten fresh, not to appear two weeks later the same way it did when it was first made. So even if I’m careful about how much I buy, I sometimes can’t use it all before it becomes hard and stale.

Hard, stale bread, though, is perfect for breadcrumbs, but what to do with those?

Breadcrumb Gnocchi — you can see bits (and chunks) of dried bread.

Turns out you can easily use them to make a quick and easy gnocchi. Traditionally made with potatoes, gnocchi can also be made with things like pumpkin, beets, and spinach. Bonus: you don’t need eggs!

(I’m not here to argue about whether or not this is really gnocchi, so if you’d rather call them dumplings or crumbocchi or something else, please feel free.)

Store-bought breadcrumbs, seasoned if you like, work great, or you can grind your own. I ground the stale bread on a box grater, then gave it a quick whir in a food processor to deal with some of the larger chunks. (If you want to go through extra steps and toast fresh bread in the oven to dry it out, again, feel free.)

Breadcrumbs (with chunks), with flour, and with water as it all starts to come together.

Breadcrumb Gnocchi

Makes about 1 pound (450 grams)

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 1/3 cup flour (00, semolina, all-purpose, whatever)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• a few pinches of freshly ground nutmeg

• 1/2 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, then slowly add water a little at a time and mix with your hands (or start with a fork). You’ll want a dough that’s tacky but not wet, so you might not use all the water, or you might need a little more. As the dough starts to come together, turn it onto the counter and knead it for a minute — too much work and it will get tough. Roll into a ball, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it sit for about an hour. This helps the gluten relax, but also allows the flour and crumbs to absorb more water, which is why it should be tacky.

Divide the dough into four pieces, and one at a time roll them out into a “snake” about as thick as your finger. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut them into 1-2 cm/.5-inch chunks, then make and cut the other snakes.

The finished gnocchi-ball, and divided: 1/2, 1/4, and 1/4 rolled into a snake.

At this point you could add more texture by rolling them over a gnocchi board or the back of a fork, or you could poke them with a fork the way my friend Leslie does, or you can just leave them as is. If they’re sticky, you can dust them with some flour to keep them from globbing together.

Leslie's beautiful forked gnocchi, and my, well, rustic shapes.

Now comes the really easy part — cooking them! Get some salted water, in a large pot, to a rolling boil, and put about half the gnocchi into the water. In about 2-3 minutes they’ll all rise to the top, giving you the “we’re all done” signal. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, put them in a bowl, and then boil the rest.

Now you’re ready to dress them up. You can go really simple and use melted butter and chopped sage, maybe with some sausage. Or go really simple and use some prepared sauce. (Certainly I’ll have some future recipes for sauces.) Just keep in mind that these are going to be a little more hearty and a little less delicate than traditional potato-egg-flour gnocchi.

Buon appetito!

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