Gnocchi w Vodka Sauce

About

Just like a proper pasta, this Keto recipe is mostly prep time and actually cooks together at mealtime fairly quickly. Enjoy this as a low-carb side dish or turn it into a main course by adding a protein or Keto vegetables. Keto gnocchi isn’t made with any potatoes, but it does have a dense and chewy texture like real gnocchi. You can prepare the gnocchi dough days in advance if you wish. Once the gnocchi is cut into individual pieces, you can portion and freeze them before cooking. Don’t boil the gnocchi! When you want to cook them, set the gnocchi in your refrigerator to properly thaw before frying them in butter. The vodka sauce is authentic, so be aware that this recipe does contain alcohol before you share it with anyone. Of course, you can easily omit the vodka to have a simple creamy tomato sauce.

Why Do I Water Down The Cream?

Traditional vodka sauces call for half and half or whole milk to make it creamy. Most other traditional pasta sauces use these ingredients too. While many dairy products are normally great for the Keto diet, there’s a catch. Basically, the more you stray from full-fat dairy products, the more carbs you’ll consume. When making Keto pasta sauces, you’ll need to use heavy cream. To balance out the fat per serving and still have enough liquid, you can water down your cream to mimic half and half or milk. It’s not appetizing to drink, but it’s a unique modification for Keto cooking!

Is Six Gnocchi Enough?

Contrary to what you receive at restaurants, pasta isn’t supposed to be served by the pound! Pasta such as gnocchi is typically served as small side dishes in traditional settings. The little gnocchi are very dense and can fill you up fast. This Keto pasta is even more filling than traditional gnocchi because the dough isn’t made with any potatoes or vegetables. These gnocchi are all almond flour, so six pieces will fill you up more than you may have thought they would! Don’t forget, you’ll have lots of yummy, thick sauce to eat with your gnocchi too.

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon buttermilk, unprepared dry powder
2 tablespoon cream heavy whipping
5 tablespoon water
½ tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 tablespoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon, chopped garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon vodka
2 fl oz cream heavy whipping
2 fluid ounce water
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon pepper red or cayenne spice
1 tablespoon, chopped basil
¼ cup, grated parmesan cheese, fresh (hard)

Instructions

Make the dough for the gnocchi at least 1 hour before you want to prepare the meal. In a stand mixer, combine the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and buttermilk powder. Do not prepare the buttermilk, just add the dry powder to the mixture! On a low speed, mix the heavy cream into the dry ingredients. Then, add cold water 1 TB at a time until the dough just comes together. You may not need to use all the water listed in the ingredients.
Transfer the dough to plastic wrap and wrap it tightly. Chill the dough for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as overnight. Once the dough is chilled, unwrap it onto a sheet of parchment paper or a clean, non-stick surface. Use clean hands to quickly roll and shape the dough into ropes about 9 inches long and 1 inch thick. Cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces, resulting in 6 gnocchi per serving. Once cut, you can re-shape the gnocchi to your liking.
Transfer the cut gnocchi onto a plate to set in your refrigerator to chill for 5 minutes. Then, melt the butter in a wide, non-stick pan over medium heat. When the butter is hot, place the gnocchi in one by one. Let the gnocchi cook on one side for just 1-2 minutes. When the gnocchi naturally releases from the pan, rotate them and continue cooking until all sides are browned and slightly crisp. You can adjust the heat as necessary to avoid burning. Transfer the cooked gnocchi to a plate to rest while you make the sauce.
To make the vodka sauce, heat the olive oil in a clean pan with minced garlic on your stove. When the garlic becomes fragrant and lightly golden, stir in the tomato paste. Use the back of a spoon or a fork to break up the tomato paste and mix it with the oil. Once the tomato paste is broken up and hot, pour in the vodka. You can keep the stove heat on low as the alcohol from the vodka cooks off for just a couple of minutes.
Mix together the second amount of heavy cream and water. With the stove heat on low, pour the liquid into the sauce. Stir in the salt, pepper, red pepper, and chopped basil. Let the sauce bubble and reduce with a lid over the pan for just 2-3 minutes. Then, take the pan off the heat to cool for about 30 seconds. Add the cooked gnocchi and parmesan cheese to the vodka sauce off the heat. Fold all the ingredients together until the cheese has melted, the gnocchi is coated in sauce, and the sauce itself has thickened a little more. Enjoy hot!