Home-made gnocchi experiment!

(serves 6-8)

Gnocchi is one of those dishes that you have to have it amazing just once, then you're hooked! It's a bittersweet kind of love though because 9/10 times you order it, it's very average or just plain bad - soggy, spongy, over-cooked. 

My fondest memory of gnocchi was of course, in Italy, in an amazing B&B in Tuscany that we stayed in with half-board, every dinner was amazing but the hand-made gnocchi (and ravioli) were life-changing!

It's definitely one recipe that's made with just very simple, everyday ingredients - potato, flour and eggs. It's not super difficult to make, but timing is important. It's a little time-consuming to roll out, but hey, what else do i have to do on a Friday night? I did a bit of research beforehand, mainly guided (and inspired) by The Italian Dish blog and i do wish i had a potato ricer... it's on the wish list, but mashing potatoes by hand seemed ok for now!

Prep time: 1.5 hr
Cooking time: 15 min


Ingredients:

3 medium or 2 large potatoes
2 eggs
1 1/2 C flour (initially), plus 1 C extra


Method:
1. Boil the potatoes (with the skin on) until soft, approximately 15-20 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes, then leave for 2-3 minutes and remove the skin.
3. Mash the potatoes until they are as smooth as possible. If you have a potato ricer (which seems as though all the pros do!), then use that.
4. Whilst the potatoes are still warm, combine the eggs and the 1 1/2 C flour quickly. The dough should be moist and a little sticky, but come together nicely and be a bit springy (very similar to fresh pasta dough).
NB. This is a key step - the potatoes have to be warm for the eggs and flour to combine properly, otherwise you end up with a fall-apart dough and tough gnocchi!
5. Put onto a floured surface, knead gently for 2-3 min until it's a nice smooth dough. Take a third or quarter of the dough and roll it out into a long log, approx 1.5cm in diameter.
6. Cut into small bite-size pieces.
7. If you want to add the ridges (to catch the sauce), then use a fork and press firmly on the side. I found this worked better when you went all the way around so it didn't squash it as much. Alternatively, i think you can curl them. This is optional as it takes a fair bit of time and i have definitely had cute fluffy pillows of gnocchi without ridging and still worked well!

8. Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water until they float, then leave for another 30 sec or so and remove with a slotted spoon.
9. Mix in with sauce and serve! You can serve with simply pesto and a handful of parmesan, or with a tomato-based ragu, or anything really!

My gnocchi army, glass of red and floury pants (and kitchen) after a successful night of experimenting!

My favourite, fastest and first gnocchi sauce was simply mixing with some home-made pesto, a few slices of prosciutto, and a handful of parmesan on top. Served with some juicy and sweet mix tomatoes on the side for extra Vitamin C - delicious!