Italian cooking techniques: How to master tortellini, risotto, and gnocchi

There’s some key techniques required to create classic Italian dishes, but with these handy steps and tips, you’ll soon master them.

Three Cheese Tortellini

1. Roll dough: Run dough through a pasta machine. Fold dough, horizontally and vertically, and continue to run it through the machine, until dough is paper thin, semi-translucent and smooth.
2. Fill: Place filling in a piping bag and pipe around 1 teaspoon into the centre of each pasta circle.
3. Fold: Brush egg wash on one half of the pasta circle, then fold over to create a half-moon shape. Press edges together to seal.
4. Shape: Push the pasta inwards slightly at the filling, bring the edges together and pinch them closed.

Chef Marc Hayes’ tip: Work in small batches and keep pasta under a damp paper towel until ready to fill.

Risotto

1. Sauté onions: Sweat onions over a medium heat until they are translucent.
2. Toast rice: In oil, heat the rice until it becomes slightly translucent. This takes 2-5 minutes.
3. Add stock: Introduce stock, a ladle at a time, wait for it to absorb before adding more. Shake the pan to keep the rice moving and release the starch.
4. Perfect the texture: The risotto should be creamy with a texture similar to rice pudding. The rice should be al dente, still with some bite.

Chef Marc’s tip: Partially cook the rice prior to service, transfer the rice to a tray to cool down and reserve in fridge until service, when cooking can be finished.

Gnocchi

1. Make mash: Boil the water and remove from heat, whisk in Knorr Mashed Potato and then rest for 2 mins. Use a spatula to bring mash together.
2. Make dough: Combine warm mash with choux pastry mix and cheese.
3. Knead & roll dough: Knead the dough while it’s warm, but don’t overwork it. Portion dough and then roll into thin logs.
4. Shape gnocchi: Cut the log into small pillow-shaped pieces, and press a finger into the centre of each piece. Place in a floured tray.
5. Cook gnocchi: Cook the gnocchi in a pan of simmering water until the gnocchi floats to the top.

Chef Marc’s tip: We’ve added a twist to the gnocchi by combining the mash with choux pastry and cheese, but flour and eggs can also be used with the mash.