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Bastien's Gnocchi With Pine Nuts

Published March 14, 2007 at midnight

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Could you please obtain the recipe for gnocchi with pine nuts from Bastien's restaurant? I recently ate there and thought it was a wonderful side dish. - Kim

Bastien's has been a family-run restaurant since 1958, probably best known for its sugar steak. They were happy to give us the recipe. If you want to short-cut it, you can buy gnocchi at the grocery and make the sauce. The restaurant is at 3501 E. Colfax Ave., 303-322-0363, bastiensrestaurant.com

Bastien's Gnocchi With Pine Nuts

Yield: 40 to 50 gnocchi, serves 4 to 6

1 medium-to-large russet potato, unpeeled

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 cup pasteurized egg product (equivalent to ½ egg)

1 tablespoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1 tablespoon piñon nuts

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

• Cut potato lengthwise into quarters.

• Place steamer basket in a large pot and fill with water to just below steamer.

• Place potato slices in a single layer on steamer; cover pot and cook 15 to 20 minutes.

• Check with fork at 15 minutes; potato slices should be soft enough to penetrate with fork but still firm.

• Peel and mash potatoes while still hot, making a depression in the middle of the mound.

• To it add egg product and ½ cup of the flour.

• Mix together with a fork to form dough. Sprinkle a little of the remaining flour over the dough; work dough with your hands until potato fully incorporates flour.

• Avoid incorporating too much flour; dough should be soft and fluffy, but not sticky.

• Working constantly on a lightly floured surface, flatten dough and cut into four pieces. Roll each piece into a log, cut log in half and then roll each half-log into a long "stick," about ¾-inch in diameter.

• Slice stick into ¾-inch pieces.

• This procedure made 56 gnocchi during testing (should make at least 40).

• Place the ¾ by ¾ -inch pieces on a waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (At this point, you can freeze the gnocchi on the baking sheet and when completely frozen, transfer to an air-tight freezer bag for later use.)

• To cook, fill a stockpot ¾-full of water.

• Bring to a boil and add the salt. When water is at a fast boil, drop the gnocchi into the water a few at a time to avoid damaging them.

• Add all gnocchi this way. The gnocchi will fall to the bottom of the pot.

• Meanwhile, in a skillet large enough to contain the gnocchi, place the butter and fresh chives. Turn heat to medium to melt butter.

• After 1 to 2 minutes, the gnocchi will come up to the surface of the boiling water, which means they are cooked. Remove gnocchi with a strainer or large, slotted spoon.

• Drain thoroughly. Transfer gnocchi to the skillet and gently stir until all are coated with the butter.

• Transfer from skillet to an oven-proof dish, sprinkle with the Parmesan and pine nuts, and broil a minute or two to melt cheese and brown the tops.

• Serve immediately.

Nutritional information per serving: 203 cal., 10 g fat (5 g sat.), 38 mg chol., 25 g carb., 1447 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 4 g pro.

Please send restaurant recipe requests to Marty Meitus, Food Editor, 101 W. Colfax, Denver, CO 80202 or . Want to pass along the recipe for the Brown Palace Macaroons? Or the Baked Squash Casserole from the Black-Eyed Pea? Recipe, Please ($16, Johnson Books), a compilation of 166 reader requests from this column, is now available. To order, call 303-954-2332 or visit www.Rocky Mountain News.com (click on Spotlight, Food). Also available at bookstores and the Cheese Company. Bastien's Gnocchi With Pine Nuts