Gummy Bears & Gnocchi di patate

Gnocchi di patate

Gnocchi di patate is an Italian classic. Before moving to Italy, I thought Italian cuisine was all Lasagne, Pizza and Pasta. Starting from two years ago I discovered the whole new world of dishes and flavors! One of my favorite is Gnocchi di patate. All you need is potatoes, an egg, some flour and a pinch of salt. You can find a recipe here. Despite being so simply to prepare and so “poor” in ingredients, they taste divinely.

It was Sunday and it should have been my special Italian lunch. I was so enthusiastic about it! I chose to serve my Gnocchi with Funghi & Brie sauce. I heated the oil, added an onion (sorry, I’m Serb) and after a while, I added chopped mushrooms. I spiced everything and left it to cool. When it was cold enough I chopped Brie on it (Is the crust edible? I always throw it away). I put my boiled Gnocchi into the sauce, mixed everything on light fire for a few minutes and my dish was ready to be served.

As simple as it sounds, but the result wasn’t as I expected. My Gnocchi were heavy and gummy. The sauce was perfect, the result wasn’t bad, but that’s just not what I wanted.

Gummy bears

When I think about gummy bears, I think about Mateja Markovic (coach of TKP Pozarevac).

It was Sunday. Not the Gnocchi Sunday, but the previous one. A great friend of mine and I went running 15K. At some point, after the 10^th kilometer, I felt really bad. I felt cold, a shiver down my spine and I started feeling dizzy. My friend took my hand and was surprised how cold I was. In just a second I was covered by cold sweat. I didn’t know what was happening. We walked for 10min and when I felt fine again, we ran the last 5K.

I was afraid. I have never felt that bad before, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that I don’t know what caused that awful feeling! Maybe I was dehydrated, maybe I was too tired, I don’t know. Besides, I realized I was low on energy those days, I was always hungry and I put on 3kg(?!). I decided to cut on trainings (and ice creams). The first week I trained less and the second one (the one that we have just left behind) I made a four-day-pause. I didn’t give up, nor I was thinking about giving up. But I felt the need for some rest.

I restarted today. My training was 15K running and I felt good. I even lost 3kg that I had put on (What? How? Dunno). I feel fine now and I am ready for new adventures!

It’s all about Gnocchi

I had Dejan on my side, his professional help and his training plans. I was eating (more or less) healthy, I was sleeping enough, I wasn’t stressed. Generally speaking, my sauce was just fine. I think that the problem is that before starting this program, I wasn’t very active. I didn’t run for more than a month because my foot hurt me and I ran just 2-3 times per week before that because I had to think about my Master thesis. From the moment it was all over, I just started being hyperactive, spending all my spare time in the movement. From a coach-potato, I wanted to become a great Gnocchi. But I turned to be a gummy bear made of potato starch. I have nothing against gummy bears, but it’s not what I wanted to make! For great Gnocchi dough, you need the best and very special kind of potato, a genuine raw material. I decided to build my basis slowly, from the scratch. I will listen to my body and have a rest when I need it. As for Gnocchi, I will search for the right potato and once I find it, I will make a great Gnocchi blindfolded.

Bon appetite!