Ganja Gnocchi

(Can be made with or without cannabis)

Italian foods have always had a special place in my heart. I love a hearty dinner on a cold evening, with or without a meaty tomato sauce. (My son has a vegetarian girlfriend, so I look for recipes she’d enjoy.)

Others ask for a recipe made with cannabis ingredients to include in a good home-cooked meal.

Well, today, I have one for you: Ganja Gnocchi, a potato dish with garlic, cheese, and a ganja butter and olive oil sauce.

(*First, do you remember how to DeCarb your flower to make cannabutter and canna olive oil?
A quick refresher… cannabis needs a “Fat” to bind with when you are cooking. Butter, oils, soy, lard, and others all work for pastries, pasta, and baked goods.
After chopping the flower finely, place it onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet and into your oven at 225 degrees, stirring occasionally, for two to four hours. You are toasting and unlocking the THC – but not burning it. Alternatively, you can skip the toasting part and use canning jars and lids. Place the sealed jar of cannabis with the binding fat into a pan of boiling water and steep for two hours. Run the infused mixture through a cheesecloth or straining cloth to squeeze out the infused oils and separate the debris. (The leftover debris makes a great fertilizer.) The butter and oils will keep up to two weeks in a sealed jar in your refrigerator.)

Ganja Gnocchi

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes (I recommend using big baking potatoes)
5 tbsp canna olive oil (use 2 in the recipe, 2 in boiling water while cooking the Ganja Gnocchi, and the remaining 1 in the chopped garlic while browning)
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg, slightly beaten
3 cups flour (your choice – white, wheat, rice) and some extra to dust and keep the gnocchi from sticking together
6 tbsp cannabutter (use 2 while cooking the chopped garlic, 2 in the flour mix, and 2 when reheating the garlic before serving and extra to serve on the crusty bread)
1 tbsp chopped garlic (jar or fresh cloves)
salt, to taste
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (or more to taste)
1 bottle of hearty red wine
1 loaf of crusty bread
4 quarts of boiling water in a large pot

Directions:

1. In a small frying pan, brown 2 tbs cannabutter with the chopped garlic, then remove it and cool on the side.
2. Rinse the potatoes, leaving the skin on. Then, boil them in salted water until tender.
3. Remove the skins and mash the potatoes through a sieve while they are still hot. Ensure that no lumps remain.
4. Using a large spoon, combine these ingredients (2 tbs canna olive oil, egg, baking powder, flour, and 2 tbs cannabutter). Plop the mixture onto a floured board or parchment-covered table top and hand-knead it until it becomes a dough.
5. Roll out part of the dough – into cigar-sized strips – and cut it into smaller thumb-sized chunks. Cover the non-cut dough to prevent drying.
6. Use your thumb or a fork (the handle side) to make an indentation on the uncut side of the dough, which will help them cook. Pull the gnocchi toward you in a slow-rolling motion. They will look like football shells.
7. Boil salted water in a pan. Add 2 tablespoons of canna olive oil and one or two of the cut pieces of dough to the water and cook for about four minutes to test the mixture. The texture should be firm but not hard. Taste them. If they seem okay, proceed. Add more flour to the dough rolling station if they are not firm enough.
8. Cut the rest of the dough into pieces. Next, dust with some flour the cut pieces and place them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. The dough can then be frozen (stored in a plastic, freezer-safe bag) or used immediately.
9. To cook, add the dough to a large pot of boiling salt water and add 2 tablespoons of canna olive oil. The dough chunks will rise to the top of the water. When they do, cook for five minutes.
10. Drain the dough by pouring the pot over a sieve or colander. Rinse the gnocchi pieces under hot water. This will remove the flour sprinkled on top and keep them from sticking.
11. Set the gnocchi pieces aside in a large bowl or platter. Reheat the browned cannabutter and garlic mixture, add the remaining oil and butter, toss the gnocchi in the bowl, and coat evenly. Serve on a platter with large scooping spoons and a dash of fresh parsley for garnish.
12. Add generous amounts of parmesan cheese to the top, along with a hearty red wine, tossed salad, and crusty cannabutter spread bread.
Mangia the Ganja!

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