Pan-fried gnocchi with parmesan

LAST week I started talking about essential vitamins and minerals that humans need, to remain healthy.

I covered Vitamin A last time, this week I am going cover Vitamin D and before anyone asks if I don’t know my alphabet, I can assure you I do. The importance of these two vitamins being fat soluble cannot be over-emphasised, which is why I am discussing them sequentially with E and K next.

Both A & D vitamins have a “get out clause”. As I mentioned last week, beta-carotene can be turned into Vitamin A and sunshine on human skin synthesises Vitamin D.

Back to more fake science; sun tans are bad for you? No, they are not, sunburn is bad for you, a sun tan indicates that your body is self-protecting.

I could weep when I see parents putting their children in all-in-one suits, with a peaked cap, a neck protector and covering any other exposed flesh with sun cream and wondering why their children don’t want to go to the beach or the pool, because a) they look ridiculous and b) because they are too hot. Use a good sunscreen!

My personal recommendation is for one that is applied at the beginning of the day and lasts for 10 hours. It means concentrating to ensure its application is thorough once only! I have used this type of sunscreen on my three children (who are blond and fair skinned) with no problems at all. It reacts with the skin to make it UVLA (Ultra Violet Light Band A, linked with skin cancer), impervious. It is not impervious to UVLB that causes tanning.

The fake science continues with regard to UVL. Yes, there is a link with malignant melanoma which can prove fatal if not discovered early enough, two other UVL related cancers are easily treatable and do not to spread even after they have been present for 10+ years. However, diseases associated with Vitamin D deficiency are making a huge comeback: Osteoporosis and osteopenia, 17 types of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, bursitis, gout, infertility and PMS, Parkinson’s disease, depression and SAD, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, periodontal disease and psoriasis.

A tan will help to preclude all of the above, despite what the “experts” say!

Only one short recipe this week, but one that is full of flavour and texture, better than being boiled as the instructions on the pack suggest!

Fried Gnocchi with Parmesan Cheese

Serves 4

250 grams gnocchi, bought from a supermarket for about one Euro is fine!

2 tablespoons dried parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, finely ground

1. 1. Place gnocchi in a polythene food bag.

2. 2. Add parmesan cheese and shake to coat the gnocchi as evenly as possible

3. 3. Pour olive oil into a frying pan and place on heated hob.

4. 4. Add gnocchi and agitate in the pan to coat gnocchi with oil.

5. 5. Fry until slightly browned on the outside with a crispy coat.

6. 6. Serve sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper.