Gnocchi is one of those things that intimidates a lot of people and honestly, it kinda should? It is very scary and very hard to perfect. But lucky for you, I have done all of the hard work and found the perfect recipe (shout out Pasta Social Club) and have done all of the hard work to help you achieve the little potato pillows of your dreams!!!!!!
This recipe makes enough to serve about 2 people. You can always double it, just make sure to cut your dough into two pieces before putting them into the fridge, and make them all at the same time.
Please head over to my Instagram for a full video tutorial!
what you need:
- 2 – 3 medium golden or russet potatoes
- ~100 grams AP flour
- ½ cup parmesan, freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Very tiny pinch of nutmeg
- 1 whole egg
- special equipment needed: potato ricer or a fine mesh sieve, food scale
what you need to do:
Making the dough:
- Bring a very large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
- Peel your potatoes and cut them into largish chunks.
- Put your potatoes into the boiling water and cook until soft. Super soft. Overcook them. They need to be mushy.
- Drain your potatoes and set aside to cool slightly.
- If you have a ricer (must be nice) pass the potatoes through the ricer into a large bowl.
- If you are using a mesh sieve (that is what I use) put a few chunks into it at a time over a large bowl and using the back of a wooden spoon, push them through the sieve.
- Once all of the potatoes have been essentially turned into mush, pat them dry to remove moisture and then spread out and allow them to cool and get all of the steam out.
- Once they are pretty cool, pat them dry again, and then weigh out 300 grams of potato.
- NOTE: if you do not have a food scale, I highly suggest getting one. They are like $11 on amazon and I use them for almost everything. I do convert my recipes for most stuff on here to make it easy for you guys, but sometimes you can’t do that and you NEED the scale.
- Put your 300 grams of potato into a bowl, and add the remaining ingredients.
- Using a fork, break up the egg and slowly start to mix in with the other ingredients. Begin to stir and mix until the mixture is crumbly but well saturated.
- Using your hands, knead very lightly into a ball until the dough comes together well.
- If the dough is sticky, add a sprinkle of flour.
- Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for an hour. If you doubled the recipe please make sure to cut your dough in half and wrap each piece separately before putting them into the fridge.
Shaping the gnocchi:
- Cut your dough into about 4 – 5 pieces.
- Lightly dust each piece in flour and then roll out into a long skinny log, about an inch in diameter.
- Grab a sharp knife, and cut the log into 1 inch little gnocchi pillows. I use a ruler for this but feel free to eyeball it.
- Transfer the gnocchi’s to a well floured surface. I use a little cookie sheet that I sprinkle flour on.
- If you are ready to go, cook immediately in ROLLING BOIL water. Do not put into water that is simmering or barely boiling. You want it bubbling away like a witch brewing a magic potion, okay?
- Cook them in the boiling water until they float the top, and then toss in your desired sauce!
- I always have my pan of sauce ready to go in the burner next to my water pot on the stove and I use a slotted spoon to just transfer them over to the warmed sauce.
- My favorite: toss in Buttery Garlicky Pesto and serve over a bed of Whipped Ricotta <3 <3 <3 <3
- (Alternatively, freeze them on a flat flour surface and then transfer to an air tight container to store for about a week.)