Polenta gnocchi with codfish and olives
Despite my southern Italy origins I really like polenta and, regularly, comes that time of year when, at the end of summer, I can not wait for the temperature to get a little fresher to enjoy a dish of it.
In transitional seasons I love to combine it with lighter condiments based on fish and vegetables, in this case I decided to give it a different shape and the inspiration for these delicious polenta gnocchi with codfish and olives was born.
Honestly, I simply revisited one of my dad’s recipes, one of those that he often prepares us for our joyful and enjoyable Sunday family gatherings.
Some tricks before directions
If you choose the most comfortable route, you will buy an already soaked cod (as I did), but it has the disadvantage of being more expensive than the salted one.
If you prefer to save money and invest in time, to desalt your codfish proceed in this way: cut it into large pieces, rinse them well with flowing water and then leave them to soak in a large bowl immersed in plenty of cold water.
Cover with a dish and change its water every 8 hours (3 times a day) for 3 days keeping it in a cool place (if it’s hot you can put it in the fridge).
To make gnocchi you can use both corn flour for traditional polenta and the quick cooking one.
These gnocchi are very simple to make, you just need a pastry bag and the only caution is to use your polenta when it is still warm (but not burning hot!) otherwise it will tend to crumble.
When you cook your polenta, measure the water in order to obtain an average consistency.
It is not necessary to boil your gnocchi before serving them, just stir-fry them quickly with their sauce in order to heat them.
Polenta gnocchi with codfish and olives recipe
Calories: 510 kcal
Ingredients
Serves 4- 200 gr of corn flour
- Water as required
- Salt as required
- 600 gr of salted cod already soaked
- 400 gr of tomato sauce
- 80 gr of pitted black olives
- 60 gr of green celery
- 60 g of golden onion
- 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Pepper as required
- Celery leaves as required
For polenta gnocchi
For the sauce with codfish and olives
Directions
Cook your polenta following the instructions of the package, once cooked pour it into a bowl and let it cool for 10-15 minutes, just enough time to work it without burning your hands.
Take a pastry bag without a spout, fill it with still hot polenta and form long cylinders, with a thicness of about 2 cm on a smooth surface or on a tray covered with baking paper (it is not necessary to use flour).
When finished cover the rolls obtained with plastic wrap (without press them) and let them cool completely before cutting your gnocchi using a sharp knife.
Rinse the codfish, remove the skin and chop it in cubes of about 3 cm each side.
In a large pan gently sweat the chopped onion with the oil, when it is browned add the celery cut into slices about 3 mm thick, brown for about a minute.
After this time raise the heat and add the codfish, let it brown for a couple of minutes then add the tomato sauce and bring to boil, low the heat, add the olives and cover with a lid.
Finish the cooking of the cod (it takes very few minutes, it must flake off with a fork), add your polenta gnocchi and stir fry them in the sauce gently, not to break them.
Put your polenta gnocchi with codfish and olives in the dishes and sprinkle with ground pepper and chopped celery leaves.
