Homemade Gnocchi Tutorial

One of my daughters recently discovered a love of gnocchi so I thought it would be a great opportunity to get her in the kitchen and teach her how to make them from scratch.  We had a really fun time and managed to capture a few photos along the way.  Enjoy!

I start with hot baked potatoes that are passed through a food mill or potato ricer (skins removed). The riced potatoes are allowed to cool and dry out a bit. Then eggs, salt, and flour are added until a dough forms.

The dough is kneaded a few times, then take a hunk of dough and roll it into a snake that’s 3/4-inch thick.

The dough is then cut into 1-inch wide bits. You can cook the pieces as is, but it’s more fun to do the following:

Using the back side of a fork, roll each dough bit over the fork tines, or you can use a wooden gnocchi board.

Stop rolling when you get to this point, then let the gnocchi fall to the counter. The finished gnocchi will have rides on one side and the other side will have a depression from your finger.

This is the back side. The gnocchi puff up a bit when they’re cooked so the depression won’t stay that big.

Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a floured sheet pan and repeat the process until you’ve used up all the dough. The gnocchi are now ready to be cooked.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

The gnocchi cook for a short time, maybe 3 minutes - they’re done when they float to the top of the water.

You can see that they’ve puffed up a bit. Serve them with your favorite pasta sauce, pesto, or brown butter and sage sauce.

Item’s used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• food mill https://amzn.to/2E5QdDv

• potato ricer https://amzn.to/2HhOQUm

• gnocchi board https://amzn.to/2Vy7PT5

• spider https://amzn.to/2Q2EvhS

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Homemade Gnocchi

Printable Recipe

serves 2 to 3 as a main dish, or 4 to 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 2 pounds baked Russet potatoes, skins removed and potato flesh passed through a food mill or potato ricer

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon salt

• at least 4 ounces of all-purpose flour (more may be needed

Directions

1. Remove hot skins from freshly baked potatoes and pass through a or potato ricer; spread riced potatoes in a single layer on a sheet tray and allow to cool.

2. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.

3. Combine cooled potatoes, beaten egg, salt, and enough flour to form a dough that just holds together when you squeeze some in the palm of your hand.

4. Knead dough on a flowered surface for about a minute.

5. Cut off a enough dough to roll into a 10-12 inch long snake that is 3/4-inch thick.

6. Using a knife or pastry scraper, cut the snake into 1-inch wide bits.

7. Form each gnocchi by rolling the 1-inch bits over the tines of a fork or gnocchi board and place them on a flour dusted half sheet pan. The gnocchi can be cooked in boiling water right away.

8. Boil them for 1-3 minutes - the gnocchi are done cooking when they float to the surface of the water.

9. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon or wire spider.

Brown Butter and Sage Sauce

Printable Recipe

makes enough sauce for one whole batch of gnocchi above

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4-8 fresh sage leaves, chopped fine

• 1 shallot, finely minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• a few grates of fresh nutmeg

Directions

1. In a small saucepan or frying pan, gently melt the butter and add shallots, nutmeg, and sage.

2. Heat until butter solids turn brown and smell nutty.

3. Remove from heat - add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pour over cooked gnocchi.

recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

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Rocco's Pasta alla Vodka

This pasta alla vodka recipe, adapted form a chef Rocco Dispirito, might take you by surprise when you realize it’s missing one very important ingredient…. the vodka! Rocco explains vodka contains a lot of calories, but not a lot of flavor. Alcohol, however, is one of 3 flavor carriers (along with water and fat), but its absence is replaced by the the addition of heavy cream, which not only adds a bit of luxury, but it rounds out the flavors beautifully.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• 6-quart stock pot https://amzn.to/2PZKlR2

• microplane grater https://amzn.to/2VQDqyH

• fire-roasted red peppers https://amzn.to/2VUByFo

• Rocco DeSpirito’s cookbook Now Eat This https://amzn.to/2YidMQW

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Rocco’s Pasta alla Vodka

makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounces your favorite shape pasta

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (try my quick marinara or san marzano sauce)

• 3/4 cup jarred fire-roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. In a 6-quart stockpot, bring 8 cups of water and 1/2 ounce (15 grams or 2 1/2 teaspoons) Morton’s Kosher salt to a boil; add pasta and continue to boil until al dente, stirring occasionally.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes for 1 minute, then add sauce, chopped fire-roasted peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through.

3. Stir in cream, cheese, and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, stir in fresh basil, and serve immediately.

adapted from Rocco DeSpirito Now Eat This

(affiliate links)