Potato Gnocci

Potato gnocchi is one of those things that I've heard is really challenging for the home cook to make. However, due to my love of potatoes, I've always been tempted to try cooking it myself. I've tried the store-bought gnocchi from the pasta aisle at the grocery store, but I really wasn't that impressed with them, but nonetheless, hearing people talk about how lovely and light these potato dumplings can be, I had to give it a try.

The website Italian Food Forever has been of constant inspiration to me over the last few months, and I've found a number of fantastic recipes there, so I decided to go with the potato gnocchi recipe on that website. If you do plan on trying to make gnocchi, have a look at the step-by-step guide to making gnocchi too.

I've heard that one of the most challenging things about making potato gnocchi at home is that people tend to overwork the dough, so the gnocchi end up being really tough and dense, but this recipe seems to work because you bake the potatoes rather than boil them. This means that you don't have to add as much flour to the dough, and it also means you don't have to overwork the dough as a result. I combined the baked potato, egg, salt, and only one cup of the required flour until it was just mixed. Then I kneaded it as the recipe calls for until it was a smooth ball of dough. At this stage, I found rolling the dough out into ropes was incredibly simple. Then I cut the dough into 1-inch pieces and used a fork to make a few indentations. Then I set them aside in the fridge until I was ready to cook them.

Like pasta, you boil a pot of salted water to cook the gnocchi. Then you drop the gnocchi into the water and wait for them to float. Once they're floating at the top, they're cooked. 

I really wanted the gnocchi to shine, so I made a very basic tomato sauce using a can of crushed tomatoes, an onion, three or so cloves of garlic, some fresh oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and pepper. I began by cooking the diced onion and chopped garlic in a bit of olive oil. Once those seemed soft, I added the can of tomatoes, a pinch of red pepper flakes, pepper, and the fresh oregano. I saved the fresh basil to garnish the gnocchi along with a bit of parmesan cheese.

I was surprised at my success making the gnocchi for the first time, as they were light, didn't fall apart on me, and weren't dense at all. I love Italian Food Forever's recipe and highly recommend it for first-time gnocchi makers.