For me, potato gnocchi are a symbol of selfless love. My mother made the best gnocchi, but because she was intolerant to potatoes, she did not eat them. After all that work, she would just have a plate of spaghetti while we feasted on the heavenly dumplings.
There is something esoteric about making gnocchi. Things can go wrong. They can turn out too tough, floury little pebbles, or too soft and fall apart in the water. My mother only ever made them in the summer with new potatoes. I know others that will only make them in the winter with old potatoes. Everyone has a theory about which potatoes are best, but do make sure to choose starchy potatoes and cook them in a way that they don’t become waterlogged.
In Umbria, we also believe that we should drink wine and not water with gnocchi. I am sure you will not mind to honor the tradition with a glass of red wine.
In my experience, the secret to make perfect gnocchi is to make sure the potatoes are dry before mashing. You want to add just enough flour to obtain a dough. If the potatoes are too moist they will take too much flour resulting in the above mentioned pebbles.
I don’t make ridges on my gnocchi to “hold” the sauce as my gnocchi are very soft and light and require careful manipulation. I prefer to finish them in the sauce like I do with pasta, but I don’t stir them as much.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g/ 1 lb starchy potatoes (Yukon gold or other yellow potatoes)
- 1 egg
- 160 g (1 and 1/2 cup) plain flour (or gluten free flour mix)
- 100 g (3 oz) Gorgonzola or other high quality blue cheese
- 3 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped walnuts
- 2-3 tablespoon grated Parmigiano Reggiano
How to cook the potatoes
Place the unpeeled potatoes in a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain, then transfer in a warm oven or to a griddle lined with foil for 5-10 or so to drive off all the moisture.
You can also pierce the potatoes on both sides with the tip of a knife and microwave them in a covered bowl for 5 to 15 min until fork tender. The time varies depending on size and variety of the potatoes so check every 5 minutes to avoid overcooking. Microwaved potatoes are quite dry so there is no need to reduce moisture any further.
Make the potato dough
When still warm, peel the potatoes then mash them, preferably with a mouli or potato ricer. Stir in the eggs with a fork until well incorporated. Adding the egg when the mashed potato are still warm will set the mixture. Transfer the mixture on your worktop and, using a pastry scraper, mix in about 1/4 of the flour.
Knead lightly to obtain a smooth dough adding more flour if it’s too sticky to handle. You might not need to use all the flour. The dough is ready when it’s firm enough to shape the gnocchi.
How to shape the gnocchi
To test if you have added enough flour to the dough, make 2 or 3 dumplings (see below) and cook them in a pan of salted boiling hot water for 1 minute. If they fall apart you definitely need to add more flour. If they keep their shape, it’s safe to proceed making the rest of the gnocchi.
Roll the dough into cylinders about 2 cm ( 2/3 inch) in diameter. Cut each cylinder into 2 cm (2/3 inch) pieces, roll them quickly into a round shape and place them on a well floured tray or pasta board. Please make sure the gnocchi do not touch or they will stick to each other and, in a humid day, become almost impossible to separate.
How to make the Gorgonzola sauce
Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, melt the gorgonzola cheese with the heavy cream in a shallow pan which must be large enough to hold all the gnocchi. Toast the finely chopped walnuts in a small dry pan and set aside. Drop the gnocchi in the boiling water.
As they cook, they’ll float to the surface. Taste them and if they are still raw, let them cook no more than 15-20 seconds from the time they surface. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them in the pan that holds the sauce. Stir lightly, plate, sprinkle with walnuts and Parmigiano and serve immediately.
Serves 2-3.
For one person you will need about 35 gnocchi (200 gr/ 7 oz) .
You should have posted this last week! We made gnocchi last week and they came out rather nice, but I can always use a refresher course and a new tip or two – I didn’t add eggs…but think that is a great idea!. (this time, fortunatamente! I remembered to use the potato ricer!…last time I made gnocchi it was a complete disaster because I forgot and used a food processor!)
(che carine le ragazze!)
We really, really love Gnocchi, especially with simple tomato. They are a “piatto unico”, that a dish you can eat alone in a meal, the only main protagonist of your lunch. Gnam Gnam. Nice video Letizia. We did a slideshow some times ago, see if you like it: http://www.slideshare.net/UmbriaLovers/gnocchi?from=ss_embed
Love the comment about drinking red wine with the gnocchi – classic!
Love the video Letty, I will have to move the kitchen into the study and cook in here!
Tell the girls they are stars in the making!
xx
ciao Melissa, using eggs is another of those things people swears you should do or absolutely you should not do. I find that they just make the product more reliable when the potatoes are less than ideal.
Glad you all liked my “presenters”.
omg this are fabulous my very favorite pasta, these look amazing and great instructions as well~
Such a sweet video! Grazie!
grazie a tutti!
What a lovely video, Letizia — the girls look so cute!
Your recipe looks so delicious (and deceptively simple!) I only ever have gnocchi in Italy because in Canada it can be very heavy (too heavy, I think, to even grow in one’s stomach)
Your “secrets” to success are so helpful; testing a few before cooking is a brilliant idea.
Love the post and the video!! Yes, you’re absolutely right, gnocchi is one of those “absolutely do vs. absolutely don’t” recipes in Italy… actually my recipe is “old-potatoes, no egg” 😉 …I’ll go and try yours asap… you know, scientific interest… 🙂
Yes Sandra, when gnocchi are heavy they are terrible! That’s the sort that grows in the stomach.
Giulia, I actually find that eggs give them a better flavor, but may be old potatoes don’t need them. Everything is possible with gnocchi.
bravo!!! was a JOY to watch! thank you for sharing!
I really enjoyed your video. Personally I like to bake my russet potatoes which make the gnocchi very light and fluffy.
It was a joy to see the children.
thank you Catherine, I have never baked the potatoes but it’s of course a good idea if one has enough time, I’ll try next time!