Our most recent CSA box contained some wonderful locally-grown russet potatoes providing an excuse to try making gnocchi. Being the first time, we largely followed an existing recipe (see credits below), but simplified the directions so they made sense to us. For this first try, we served with a butternut squash soup sauce and grilled Italian sausage which proved an excellent combination.
Consistent sized gnocchi is important for even cooking. After rolling into "snakes", we used a small fork with 3/4-inch wide tines as a reference when cutting each gnocchi resulting in a very uniform result. The cooking time below (30 seconds post-float) worked incredibly well, but it will likely differ (shorter/longer) for other sized gnocchi so take that into account.
Due to the proportions involved, this recipe makes enough gnocchi for four and reducing does not make sense. Due to the effort involved, two batches of two is a win, especially as the gnocchi freezes nicely (prior to boiling).
The recipe calls for the potatos to be "fork tender" after baking, but without any definition of "fork tender". We ultimately used the following test-- if you can insert the fork tines approximately 2/3rds without excessive force and the potato slides off under its own weight, it is "fork tender". Take that Merriam-Webster and your useless definition!
1largeEgg
1/2tspKosher Salt
3/4CupAP Flour (adding more if dough is sticky)
- Fork prick the potatoes all over.
- Bake potatoes on a rack at 375F for 1 1/2 hours until fork tender.
- Let set until just cool enough to handle and peal with a paring knife.
- Cool on rack while paring other potatoes.
- Rice potatoes onto a floured counter top and spread out to dry and cool for 3-4 minutes.
- Beat egg with salt and drizzle over riced potatoes.
- Sprinkle flour over potato mixture and cut mixture together, eventually folding dough over itself into a smooth dough.
- Cover with kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Clean and re-flour work surface.
- Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll into 1/2 inch diameter snakes.
- Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper dusted with flour.
- Cut snakes into 3/4 inch pieces and transfer to baking sheets (no touching).
- If preparing for two people, place one baking sheet in the freezer. After the gnocchi is firm, transfer to appropriate storage and keep frozen until later use.
- Let (remaining) gnocchi rest while preparing sauce.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (4 quarts with 1T of salt).
- Add gnocchi to boiling water. Once the majority float, cook for an additional 30 seconds (around 75 seconds total boil time in our case).
- Taste one gnocchi to ensure it is cooked through.
- Transfer directly to the sauce using a spider or some kind of wire mesh/strainer.
Base recipe from Prettyplainjanes.com.