Gnocchi
The first time I ever made Gnocchi I was told they needed to taste like little pillows in your mouth. I thought that was a little silly…. until …. I made them and exclaimed ” that tasted like a little pillow in my mouth”.
the trick
There is only one real trick to making light pillowy Gnocchi and that is DUN DUN DUUUN … DO NOT over knead the dough. Kneading any flour based dough makes it tougher and more glutenous, knead for a long time and it gets tougher.
Potato, Flour, and an Egg is all it takes. Gnocchi only consists of a few ingredients so treat each one with respect. If you do you will end up with Gnocchi so good friends will be asking when the next party is.
All about the potato
First thing, cook the Potatoes. I have tried several methods for cooking the potatoes some with questionable results. The most consistent method I’ve found has been cooking them like I was making mashed Potatoes. Peel, cut into even chunks and boil in lightly salted water.
After the Potatoes have cooked it is important to remove as much of the water as possible. To help do this strain the Potatoes into a colander and return them immediately back into the pot they where cooked in. The heat from the pot will steam out much of the remaining water and make the Potatoes lighter and fluffier.
Next is ricing the Potato, do not mash them this will make a dough denser. If you have a ricer you can use it, if not any wire sieve will work. Place a few chunks at a time in the sieve and use the back of a wooden spoon to push them through the sieve onto a cutting board.
Mixing the Gnocchi dough
After all the Potato has been riced create a well in the middle, beat an Egg and pour into the well. Sprinkle the Flour around the outside then use a fork to gently pull Flour and Potato into the Egg. Pulling a little Potato at a time trying not to mix more than needed.
The amount of Flour is subjective depending upon the moisture content of the Potatoes. Start with the amount listed but if the dough is still very tacky and wet add a few Tbsp’s of Flour at a time. Very gently knead the Flour in until the dough becomes stiff enough to roll.
Seems like such a lot of work for one little dish of Potatoes but stick with me you won’t be disappointed.
Turning the dough into Gnocchi
Take a piece of dough and roll it out into a log about an inch thick. Cut the log into pieces about as wide as a fork then dust them with flour. Finally using the back of a fork, place a piece of Gnocchi on the top of the fork tines and push the Gnocchi down the tines. Use enough force so the Gnocchi dough is showing the marks of the fork. These marks are important because they will help grab any Butter or Sauce they come in contact with.
Now you have wonderful little pillows of joy just waiting for some warm Butter or maybe turned into Cheeseburger Gnocchi. They are many things you can do with Gnocchi but sometimes it’s best to keep it simple. Some Butter maybe a nice Tomato Rosé Sauce, just have fun and enjoy your hard work.
Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Lbs Potato Peeled and Chopped
- 1 C Flour Additional if needed
- 1 Egg Lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp Salt For the water to cook the Potatoes
Instructions
- First Peel and cut the Potato. Try to keep the Potatoes pieces as close to the same size as you can, this way they will all cook evenly.
- Once the Potatoes are cooked strain the pot in to a colander and return the drained potatoes back into the warm Pot. The warmth of the pot will help steam some of the remaining moisture out of the Potatoes.
- Next Rice the Potatoes. Do not mash this will make the dough much tougher. Either use a devise call a ricer to rice the Potatoes or use a mesh sieve and the back of a wooden or serving spoon. Gently push the potato though onto a lightly Floured cutting board.
- Sprinkle the Flour around the Potato, make a well in the middle and add the lightly beaten Egg.
- Here is the key, with a fork gently pull the Potato and Flour into the Egg gently mixing as you go. The less you mix and knead the lighter your Gnocchi will be.
- Mixing only enough to form a cohesive ball. Lightly knead once or twice to pull the dough together and you are ready to roll.
- Take a palm size of the dough and roll into a log about an inch thick. Cut the log to make pieces about as wide as a fork, toss them in a little Flour so they don't stick to each other.
- Using the back of a fork, start by placing a piece of Gnocchi at the top of the tines. Use your thumb to roll the Gnocchi down the fork push hard enough to leave the fork imprint on the side of the Gnocchi. If you leave a small thumb imprint as well that is perfectly fine.
- Now that you have gone to all this trouble to make beautiful light fluffy Gnocchi, don't pile them onto each other. These will not be like store bought Gnocchi that are firm and slightly rubbery. Treat with care and place them in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
- A little butter, a little browning, a little Rosé Sauce and savour each one as it melts away in your mouth.