Feed me!

Gnocchi (eggless)

My mother came to visit this weekend. That means an absurd amount of food has been given to me. I am now left with enough groceries to feed a family of four for 2 weeks. I received 15 potatoes…..I know….

As I am a huge fan of the starchy tuber, I figured I should probably try something new. I have had fried, baked,sauteed, boiled, mashed potatoes, which is pretty boring. Then I realized I have never made gnocchi. It seems like a pretty simple recipe, and it is. Once again minimal ingredients make the best food, at least in my opinion. 

Cook time- 2 hour Serves- 4 people

2 large potatoes

all purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon of flavored or herbed olive oil (optional)

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the potatoes and let them cool. 

3. Once they are cool, peel the potato skin off and then mash in a bowl with a fork. Make sure you “fluff” them with a fork after you are done mashing them. 

4. Add the salt and a little bit of flour (~ 1/4 cup) and start mixing with your hands. Add the flour little by little until you form a smooth un-sticky ball of dough. ( I added a tablespoon of garlic EVO to my mix to give it more flavor, you can do the same with other flavored oils or herbs. 

5. Drape a clean cloth over the dough and let it sit for 20 minutes. 

6. Roll portions of the the dough in to a 1/2 inch thick ropes. Lay the ropes down on a flour-dusted board. Cut each rope in to 1 inch nuggets of potato-y goodness :-) 

7. I rolled each gnocchi down a fork and curled them in half. To do this- gently push the gnocchi against the back of a fork and then curl the gnocchi over so that both ends meet. 

*****If you have more than you need, you can freeze them at this point for later like I did. IF you do decide to freeze the gnocchi, put them in an airtight container. When you recook them just boil until they float to the surface. 

7. Cook the gnocchi in boiling water until the float to the surface and remove them with a slotted spoon. (this takes less than a minutes so be quick) You will see the gnocchi puff up and it’ll be a little soft when you take it out. The gnocchi with firm more as it cools. 

I had some leftover homemade marinara sauce which I ate with the gnocchi, but you can do pesto, alfredo, or my favorite, Gorgonzola sauce. 

Enjoy!