Gnocchi

Ingredients

  • 3 large potatoes
  • Flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Wash your potatoes. If you are going to boil them, peel them at this stage. If you are going to bake them, preheat your oven to 425 (f) and poke the potatoes all over with a fork.
  2. Cook your potatoes until they are soft all the way through. You can do this by cutting them up and boiling them, or by baking them for about 40 minutes or until soft all the way through.
  3. If you baked your potatoes, cut them in half and scoop out the insides into a bowl, leaving just the skin. You can dispose of the skins at this point (or eat them as a crispy delicious snack).
  4. Mash your potatoes or pass them through a ricer.
  5. Add egg, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Knead together until the dough holds together and is smooth. Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time if your dough is too sticky.
  6. Place dough on a floured surface and divide into 4 portions.
  7. Roll out each portion into a long thin rope, about 3/4 inch in diameter. Then cut ropes into pices about 1/2 inch long.
  8. Roll each piece against a gnocchi board or the back of your fork to create ridges.
  9. Set a pot of water to boil.
  10. Work in batches if needed to not overcrowd the pot. Put the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook. The gnocchi will float to the top of the water when they are done, usually takes 2-3 minutes to cook.
  11. Drain the cooked gnocchi and serve in your favorite sauce.

Notes!

In this recipe I've given the option between baking your potatoes or boiling. I don't know if I have the worst luck on the planet or if all the gnocchi recipes I've ever read are leaving out pertinent information, but gnocchi dough is always unbelievably sticky for me. One of the ways I've found that helps reduce that is cooking the potatoes dry instead of boiling them. If you are baking the potatoes consider seasoning the skins so you can eat them as a snack once you scoop out the insides.

I also did not give an amount of flour in the ingredients list for the same reason. I start with a cup and then wind up adding a full bag. Thats an exaggeration, but still, I always wind up adding a lot more flour than I expect to.

Your dough will still be slightly tacky once its done, thats normal. But it should stick to itself and not your hands.

By nature of its simple and neutral ingredients gnocchi is highly customizable. You can give it a try to make it out of basically any vegetable you can mash. You can add herbs and spices to the dough. You can put it in any pasta sauce you like, or toss some gnocchi in your favorite soup.

Hot Tip: gnocchi ingredients never look like a lot, but then it winds up making enough gnocchi to feed a small continent. If you've made too much gnocchi it freezes well for later. Simply put any extra gnocchi in a single layer on a plate or baking tray or any other flat surface you can fit into your freezer, then freeze for about 30 minutes or until the gnocchi starts to firm up. Then transfer to a freezer bag or tupperware to store for longterm.