Recipe Wednesday...Thursday: Gnocchi

Right before I met Kevin, I worked at an authentic Italian Restaurant. The food was divine. I picked up a lot of tricks about Italian cooking while I worked there (mostly how to make the delicious garlic bread...). This recipe is not a restaurant secret, but was found here. I did eat a lot of gnocchi when I worked at Gloria's though and fell in love with it. I think that this recipe tastes exactly like the stuff I had at the restaurant.

Gnocchi is a pasta, and it is made of potatoes. Actually it's kind of like a dumpling, but it's used like a pasta. It's soft and kind of squishy and dense and rich. It's also surprisingly simple to make. I'm going to give you the recipe for the gnocchi itself, go to this blog if you want to make a meal of it.

Gnocchi:

2 lbs Russet Potatoes (aka 3-4 largish, or 5-6 smallish)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup - 1 1/2 cup flour

Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for an hour until they are soft.
Let them cool until you can stand to get your hands all up in them.
Peel the potatoes, then let them cool up a little more.
Mash the potatoes until they are as mashed as can be.
Mix potato mashings with the egg and salt.
Add 1/2 cup flour and mix, then the next 1/2 cup flour and mix. Add the 1/4 cup flour, then add flour a tablespoon at a time if you need it. Your dough should be soft and feel a little like bread dough, able to be rolled out.
Divide the dough into quarters, roll each piece into a rope about 3/4 inch thick.
Chop into pieces about 1 inch wide.

At this point you can boil them if you want to, but I always freeze mine first because they are easier to handle when they are frozen.
So move the 1 inch wide potato dumplings onto a cookie sheet lined with freezer paper. They can be frozen indefinitely or until whenever you want them.
To cook the gnocchi, boil a pot of water. When it's boiling, gently dump your gnocchi into the water. They will sink to the bottom, and will float to the top when they are cooked.
They cook FAST so be ready with a slotted spoon.
As they float to the top, scoop them out with the spoon into your bowl, or casserole dish if you are going to bake it.
You might have to cook them in two batches which is fine.

To make it into a meal, you can turn it into a casserole with sauce and cheese (that's what the link above will show you) or you can just have it with your favorite pasta sauce!
Enjoy your gnocchi!