I told one of my favorite friends this week that I would teach him how to make gnocchi, and really, isn't that what this blog is for? Besides, in my family, gnocchi is a perfect holiday food.
Making gnocchi isn't difficult, but it does take some prep work and time. But, since it's pretty much the most delicious pasta you could ever enjoy, it's pretty much worth it. I want to type pretty much again. Pretty much.
You will need:
2 pounds of potatoes, cut in half and baked (let them cool, daddy-o)
2 eggs separated
2 cups of flour
a couple of pinches of salt
You vegans out there can replace the egg with a 1/4 cup of olive oil, but just be prepared to add more flour. It'll be a little dry compared to using an egg, but it'll be vegan. So there's your trade off for being healthy, jerks.
For those of us who'd rather die young but with more flavor: (I kid) Scoop your potatoes into a big mixing bowl. We don't want any skins, but as much as the fleshy, yummy white potatoey goodness as you can manage.
Some people skin the potatoes before baking, but I find that the potatoes dry out more, so I don't like it that way. But, if you want to experiment... Hey, we all do it when we're in college...
Mash your potatoes once they're in that bowl into as even and creamy of a mixture as you can manage. Then add the egg yolks. Save the egg whites for breakfast tomorrow. Throw in a pinch of salt. If you're using sea salt, the finer the better. Then add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing continuously to keep a good consistency. Depending on your potatoes, you may only use a cup and a half. You'll know you've added enough when the dough is easy to shape.
Once you've got a nice, play-dough-like substance, roll it into a log. Nothing phallic here, we only want it to be about an inch thick. Use any remaining flour to keep it from sticking to whatever surface you're rolling it out on.
Cut off pieces about an inch thick. I set them on wax paper, and then stick my thumb in them to make the traditional gnocchi shape, and then score the edges with a fork. People more concerned about thumbing their pasta use the end of a wooden spoon handle. Or just the fork. There's really no wrong way here. As long as you have tiny dumplings, you're good to go. No, that's not an euphemism.
I usually put a few layers of the gnocchi covered wax paper in the freezer, because this stuff keeps. And you'll have enough for about 4 servings. I usually only need 2 at a time.
Fresh, you'll boil these suckers, just a few at a time, for just a couple of minutes. Frozen you can cook all of them at once, but for about 5 minutes.
Whatever you do, DO NOT deep-fry gnocchi. View this video to see why that is a very unsafe thing to do.
Serve with the sauce of your choice. I personally like them with a mean vodka sauce, but that's a recipe for another day. Any of our tomato sauce recipes from this site will be wonderful. Hell, they're good just with garlic, butter and parsley. They're just GOOD.
Compliment the meal with wine. Lots of wine. Mmmm wine.
