Preparation time: 15min | Cooking time: 15min | Servings: 1

Do you like homemade gnocchi? Look what you can create from them!

We have visited a mini-zoo recently and my daughter was fascinated by a little baby zebra. There was a whole zebra family there and the little one had just a few days. It was so cute! He followed his mother everywhere and we even saw him eating. I think we spent over 20min just staring at this happy family:) Back home, my daughter wanted to make a zebra 'theme' party with her dolls. While she was playing, I prepared her a surprise - a zebra theme dinner!

I like homemade gnocchi and I often make a bit more that I freeze for another time. I usually serve them with different mixed veggies, as my daughter likes them that way. This is a very easy recipe, just presented differently :) My daughter loved it; hope your kids will love it too!

Did you know that it was previously believed that zebras were white animals with black stripes, since some zebras have white underbellies? Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animal's background color is black and the white stripes and bellies are additions.

Step1 Peel off the potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender. In the meantime, chop the mushrooms and fry them with spices and oil on the frying pan. Adjust the amount of spices to your own taste. When ready, mix the mushrooms with ricotta and set aside. Heat a bit in a microwave just before serving.

Step2 When potatoes are ready, mash them and place in a bowl. They need to cool completely before you can use them. When they are cooled, remove 1/4 of potatoes from the bowl and fill this space with flour - this way you will have a perfect amount of flour to be used! Add the removed potatoes and add 1 egg. Mix everything with your hands, until you have a non-sticking, cohesive dough. Add flour if needed to avoid the dough being too sticky.

Step3 Take a portion of the dough and roll it out into a log shape. If it is too long, cut it in half or line up several logs together, making sure to flour them lightly on the outside so that they don’t stick. Cut them into small pieces.

Step4 Boil salted water in a very large pot to cook the gnocchi. Cook them in the boiling water until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon ten seconds or so after they've surfaced.

If you made a bit more of gnocchi than what you need, you can freeze them (uncooked). Use a plastic freezing bag and place the gnocchi inside, separating them, so they don't touch each other. Place them in your freezer. Once they are frozen, you can place them in a smaller bag (they can touch).

Step5 Place the gnocchi on a plate shaping the zebra: start with the body first, then the head and the legs. Cut two small parts for the ears. Use the spoon to place mushroom mousse in the spaces between the gnocchi and a bit on the legs. Shape the zebra's mouth and its tail with the mushroom mousse. Place pieces of chive and slices of cherry tomatoes below the zebra to make a nice grass. Enjoy!

Zebra - homemade gnocchi with mushrooms and ricotta