Speaking of easy? Well, making gnocchi is easy and fun as long as you get the consistency right. The potato gets a new name of a melt in your mouth delicacy! Homemade gnocchi goes good with any type of sauce.
TIPS:
Always start with less amount of flour than what is stated in the recipe. The moisture of your potatoes will determine how much flour is needed.
A starchy potato, such as russet potato must be used.
The potatoes can be boiled or baked. If boiling them, do not pierce the skins in any way because the potato will soak in too much water and be soggy.
If the dough is sticking to your hands or your surface, add a bit more flour.
Do not knead more than a few minutes as this would result in too much flour absorption which makes a heavier gnocchi.
Drop a few at a time into the boiling water to avoid the gnocchi from sticking together.
Ideally you will want to make and cook the gnocchi within a few hours. Simply transfer the gnocchi in a single layer on a lightly dusted cookie sheet and cover with a clean dish towel or wax paper until ready to use.
Gnocchi can also be frozen. Place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and place the tray in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them into freezer bags. They will keep in the freezer for one month.
4 large russet potatoes (about 2 lbs)
3 egg yolks (beaten)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F if you’ve decided to bake not boil the potatoes. Make an incision in each potato. Bake for about 1 hour or until tender.
If you are boiling the potatoes, instead of baking them, let them boil on medium but remove them from the pot before they start to crack open. Let potatoes cool a little but do peel them while they are still a little warm. Put them through a potato ricer or you can simply use a potato masher or a fork.
Form the mashed potatoes into a large well.
Add the egg yolks, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, and 1 and 1/2 cups of flour into the center of the well.
Using your hands, mix well just until the flour and potatoes stick together forming a rough looking dough.
Knead the dough lightly, gradually adding a little bit of the remaining flour if the dough is sticking too heavily on your work surface and your hands.
Knead for 2 to 3 minutes.
The dough should be smooth, pliable and just a teenie weenie bit sticky.
Cut off a small section of dough at a time.
Roll the piece of dough with a back and forth motion in your hands until you get a rope shape with a thickness of about 3/4 inch.
Cut the rope shape into 1 inch pieces. Repeat this process with the remaining dough.
To shape the gnocchi, take each 1 inch piece of dough and roll it on the back of a fork to get the line marks.
(Hold the fork at a 45 degree angle, with the tines down on the work surface with its’ inside curve towards you. In other words, the fork will be upside down.)
Or simply use your index and middle fingers by pressing both fingers down into the gnocchi and rolling quickly towards you. The gnocchi will flip over and have a pretty indentation.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Transfer the gnocchi on to a lightly floured cookie sheet and cover with a clean dish towel or wax paper until ready to use. When ready, add the gnocchi, a few at a time, to a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook for about 3 minutes. They should float. Drain.
Prepare the sauce of your choice. Mangia!