I have never made gnocchi before. Ever so often, I will get a whim to make something new. Actually, it happens quite often. I’ll get a light bulb moment and I just have to make that special something. This, was one of those moments. Certainly, they can ‘t be that hard, can they? The making part of the recipe was not that difficult.
When it came to the pattern, you know, the little lines, it was a bit hard. I used a fork to go around the little pieces and that did not work well for me. I then made little balls and indented with a wooden spoon handle. Those shapes were easy enough to make. The end result was the same … light potato and cheese pillows topped with a simple tomato sauce. Perfect!
Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. baking potatoes
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 to 1-1/2 cups flour
Directions:
Heat oven to 400. Scrub potatoes and place on a baking sheet or directly on oven rack. Cook 50 to 60 minutes or until soft when pressed, turning over using an oven mitt, at 30 minutes. While still hot, grab a mitt or hand towel, cut the potatoes in half and scrap potato out with a fork. You can either push potato through a ricer or, as I did, mash with a fork and fluff to break apart. Add butter, egg yolk and parmesan cheese.
Mix together with fingers. Adding a little flour at the time, work the flour in with hands. Not really kneading but rather pulling together and incorporating as little flour as possible. The dough should be soft and not sticky. Cut into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1/2” in diameter. Cut into 1/2” long pieces. You can take a fork and roll the back of it around each piece, pressing lightly to make an impression. Or, leave unadorned, cut in 1/2″ long pieces.
OR, pinch a teaspoon to tablespoon sized piece, roll in a ball. Using a floured handle of a wooden spoon, press in the dough ball to make a valley. Lightly flour and put aside on wax paper lined baking sheets. Heat a large stock pot to a gentle boil.
Add 2 teaspoons salt. Add potato gnocchi, do not crowd, to gently boiling water. Cook 1 to 2 minute after gnocchi rises to the top of water. Dip out with a slotted spoon, draining liquid. Place on serving platter and repeat with remaining gnocchi. Adding into sauce or covering with sauce, as soon as possible. Serve with Simple Tomato Sauce (recipe coming soon) or melted butter and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
