Gnocchi
Although gnocchi isn't exactly your traditional pasta recipe, it does fall under the pasta category. Regardless of it's categorization, gnocchi is delicious! If you like potatoes, this is one of those recipes that allows you to get creative in how you make it and what sauce you cook them. In trying out this recipe, we learned that although it technically doesn't take the entire day, letting it harden in the fridge for a few hours is probably the right thing to do. So if you're looking for a quality gnocchi, take your time and let it sit for a while before you cook it.
We decided to go with the traditional variation of gnocchi that is made with just 3 simple ingredients: potatoes, flour, eggs. I bet if you looked in your pantry right now, you'd find some potatoes and flour (and how doesn't have eggs in their fridge). Once you form the ingredients into a round dough like object and stretch it out into a log, the hardest part part of the process happens. Unlike when you make braided bread and the dough is pretty forgiving, the log of gnocchi will break with even the slightest wrong move. So be patient, and very careful. After about an hour or so from putting the gnocchi in the fridge, we decided to make a mushroom based sauce. There are so many sauces you can make to pair with the gnocchi but I have to say a creamy mushroom sauce is just so perfect!
Ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes
1 egg
All purpose flour
Directions:
Start by poking the potatoes all over using a fork. Place them in a preheated 375°F oven for about an hour. After this, the skins should be crisp and the interior should easily pierce with a knife.
Using a clean dish towel, grab each potato, and remove the skin from the potato. This will allow more steam to escape. Less steam means less moisture, and less moisture means lighter, fluffier gnocchi. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool for a few hours.
Once they have cooled down, pass them through the fine holes of a cheese grater (for an easier and faster method use a potato ricer). Once the potatoes are grated down to fluffy little bits, place them onto a rimmed baking sheet and measure to 500 grams. Add one beaten egg yolk spread evenly across (1 beaten egg yolk for every 500 grams). Then sift 100 grams of all-purpose flour across the potatoes.
Bring the potatoes into a ball of dough using a bench scraper (or the desired tool) to chop and mix everything up to make sure the egg and flour are evenly distributed. Start using your hands to press it into one cohesive mass.
Once the mass has formed, start kneading for about 90 seconds for slightly toothsome gnocchi. A phrase to remember, “The more you knead the tougher they’ll bead, but if early on you surrender then they’ll be tender”.
Once the dough is smooth and no egg or flour streaks remain, roll it out into a fat little log and cut into four even pieces. Sift some all-purpose flour onto a work surface then roll each piece of dough into a 1” thick rope. Press down any pudgy spots until it is nice and even.
Then using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut into little dumplings or into the desired size.
For different shapes other than the pillow-like shape, roll a piece of dough between your hands until round or simply make a dent in the center using your finger. For a classic gnocchi shape, press down against the tines of a fork using your thumb down and across the fork.
Once all of the dough has been cut and shaped into the desired gnocchi shape, place onto a rimmed baking sheet and cover with a dusting of all-purpose flour. For non-immediate cooking, place in a freezer to solidify for 1 hour, then scrape off and place in a bag and back into the freezer.
Enjoy with your favorite sauce!
https://basicswithbabish.co/basicsepisodes/gnocchi
