How to Make Gnocchi at Home

The first time I tried gnocchi in a restaurant I absolutely loved it, and couldn't believe these heavenly little pillows of dough were made with just potatoes and flour. Wasn't there cheese hidden in there somewhere?

Turns out no: with freshly made gnocchi, all you need is a little red sauce, pesto or Gorgonzola sauce to make a delicious, comforting dish.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to recreate the dish properly with store-bought gnocchi. Every time I've tried, the result is a heavy pile of starchy rocks that sink right to the bottom of your belly.

But here's the good news: they're relatively easy to make at home, and you can customize the dish by substituting spinach, sweet potato, ricotta or butternut squash for some (or all) of the potatoes. Here's the basic recipe, adapted from similar ones by Smitten Kitchen and Mario Batali:

Basic Potato Gnocchi
Serves 4

1 lb starchy potatoes (like Yukon Gold)
3/4 C flour, plus more if needed
1 tsp salt
1 egg yolk, beaten

Boil the potatoes until well done and drain, rinsing with cold water. Peel them when cool enough to handle with a towel. 

Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer, grate them over the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl, or grate using the grater blade of a food processor.

Transfer grated potatoes to a large bowl. Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and the salt to the potatoes and mix well.

Add half of the flour to the potatoes and stir. Continue adding flour, using only as much as you need so that the dough will not stick to your hands. How much you need depends on how wet the potatoes are.

Form the dough into a ball. On a floured surface, knead the dough for about three or four minutes, folding the dough in half and kneading with the heel of your hand.

Now it's time to make the pillows! Take a portion of the dough (about 1/6 or 1/8 of the ball) and roll it out with your hands on the floured surface so that it forms a rope about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the rope into 3/4" pieces: 

 

Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing the formed gnocchi in a single layer on a lightly floured sheet pan so that they don't stick to the pan or one another. They can be kept this way in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, if desired, but already you can tell the difference... Just look at these delicious little pillows!

 

To cook the gnocchi, place them into a pot of salted, boiling water. Cook until the gnocchi float to the top, plus one minute more. Drain the gnocchi in a colander, the return to the pot  Add 3-4 T of prepared or homemade pesto sauce and stir gently, then divide amongst 4 bowls. Top with grated Pecorino, Romano or Parmesan cheese and a pinch of hot pepper flakes, if desired.

If you are not serving your cooked gnocchi immediately, toss them with a glug of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. Another option is to brown the cooked gnocchi in butter and sage, which is more of a Parisian style. Either way, freshly made gnocchi are a perfect dinner for a cold night!