Content

• Ingredients
• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: Cook and Chop the Potatoes
• Part 2 of 4: Make the dough
• Part 3 of 4: Shape the gnocchi
• Part 4 of 4: Cook the gnocchi
• Tips
• What do you need

Gnocchi (Italian. gnocchi) are small potato dumplings. They are often served in Italian restaurants, but you don't have to go to an Italian restaurant or travel to Italy to taste them - they are easy to make at home yourself! Boil the potatoes and grate them for a dough base. Combine the potatoes with flour and egg, then shape the dough into small pieces. Boil the gnocchi for a few minutes and then cook with your favorite sauce.

Ingredients

For 2-4 servings:

• 1.1 kg potatoes
• 2 1/2 cups (300 g) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (3.5 g) salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (120 g) ricotta cheese (optional)
• 1/4 cup (25 g) shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Cook and Chop the Potatoes

1. 1 Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover them completely. Wash 1.1 kg of potatoes and place in a large saucepan with the skins on. Fill with cold water so that it covers the potatoes completely.
   • The best texture for gnocchi comes from Russet potatoes. The best analogs in Russia and the CIS include, perhaps, the “adretta” variety.
   • You will need about 4 large potatoes or 6 small ones.
2. 2 Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes over medium-high heat. Turn on a medium-high heat and bring the water to a high boil. Remove the lid from the pot and cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork.
   • Don't overcook the potatoes, or they will be harder to peel.
3. 3 Drain and place potatoes on paper towels. When the potatoes are tender, turn off the heat. Place a colander in a sink and pour the contents of the pot into it to drain off the water. Place paper towels on a plate and transfer the potatoes to dry.
   • It is very important to remove moisture from the potatoes so that the dough does not come out wet.
4. 4 Peel the potatoes. When the potatoes have cooled down, take a small knife or peeler and remove the skins. Discard the peel.
   • Remove the eyes and any brown spots if necessary and discard them.
   • To protect your hands when peeling potatoes, hold the potatoes with a towel or cotton towel.
5. 5 Crush the potatoes. Place the potato in a special potato grinder and crush it. Repeat with all potatoes.
   • If you do not have a potato press machine, you can grate it.
   • If the resulting potatoes are watery, place them on a paper towel for 1 to 2 minutes.

Part 2 of 4: Make the dough

1. 1 Place the potatoes on a work surface and add flour and salt to it. Transfer the crushed potatoes to a clean surface or cutting board. Put it together, then place 2 1/2 cups (300 g) flour and 1/2 teaspoon (3.5 g) salt on top of it.
   • For gnocchi, you can use either premium wheat flour or pasta flour.
2. 2 Use your hands to make a depression in the center of the potato mixture. Use your fingers to form a volcano-like depression in the center of the potato flour mixture. In this hole, you can add all the remaining ingredients.
   • Make a depression large enough to accommodate the eggs and cheese, if you add.
3. 3 Crack 1 egg and add cheese if desired. Break the egg into the center of the hole. For a creamier taste, add 1/2 cup (120 g) ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese with the egg.
   • Make sure that no egg shells get into the mixture, otherwise there will be hard pieces in the dough.
4. 4 Use a fork to combine the egg, flour and potatoes. Take a fork and whisk the egg and cheese if you added it. When the egg is beaten, start stirring this mixture with the flour and potatoes from the sides of the hole.
   • You can also use a spoon for mixing, but it is more convenient to do this with a fork.
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Vanna tran

   
   
   Experienced Cook Vanna Tran is a home cook. She started cooking at a very young age with her mother. Organizing events and dinners in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 5 years.

   Vanna tran
   Experienced chef

   Vanna Tran, an experienced chef, advises: “Be patient and careful when mixing the egg with the flour, otherwise the egg will leak and result in a mess on the table. Gently beat the egg in the center with a fork and gently add the flour from the sides of the cavity to it a little at a time, stirring thoroughly. "

Part 3 of 4: Shape the gnocchi

1. 1 Knead a soft dough out of the mixture. Stir in the crumbly mixture. Continue kneading until it becomes soft and stops falling apart. Do not knead too long or the gnocchi will be too hard.
   • At this stage, you do not need to add flour to the work surface, because the dough is already crumbly.
2. 2 Use your hands to make an elongated rectangle out of the dough. Place the dough on a work surface and use your hands to form a rectangle about 30 x 10 cm.
   • If the dough sticks, lightly dust it with flour.
3. 3 Cut the rectangle into 8-10 short strips. Take a fairly sharp knife and cut the resulting rectangular piece of dough. It is better not to use a serrated knife for this, as it can break the dough with it. Make 8-10 strips about 10 cm long.
   • If you haven't kneaded the dough for too long, it should be light and airy.
4. 4 Roll each strip of dough into a long rope. Place 1 strip in the center of the work surface and use the fingers of both hands to roll it into a long rope. If you want to make thin gnocchi, then roll it into a rope about 30 cm long. Repeat the procedure with each piece of dough.
   • If you want to make thicker gnocchi, then roll the dough into strands about 20 cm long.
5. 5 Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Take a knife and cut each rope into pieces. Make slices about 1 inch wide for gnocchi. If the dough sticks, dust the work surface with flour.
6. 6 Place the gnocchi on a floured baking sheet. Take a baking sheet and dust it with flour. Place the gnocchi on top of it and sprinkle with flour on top. Leave the gnocchi on the baking sheet until you are ready to cook.
   • Cook the gnocchi for 45 minutes after chopping and place them on a baking sheet.
7. 7 Use a fork to press down on each gnocchi for a unique look. To shape the gnocchi, press the teeth of a fork into each piece of dough. Alternatively, you can press down on each piece with your thumb in the center.
   • If you do not want to shape the gnocchi, then you can skip this step and proceed to cooking.

Part 4 of 4: Cook the gnocchi

1. 1 Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Fill a large enough saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water boils, add salt and gnocchi to it. Once added, the gnocchi will sink to the bottom of the pot.
   • Try to shake the excess flour off the gnocchi before cooking.
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Vanna tran

   
   
   Experienced Cook Vanna Tran is a home cook. She started cooking at a very young age with her mother. Organizing events and dinners in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 5 years.

   Vanna tran
   Experienced chef

   Vanna Tran, an experienced chef, advises: “When making pasta, the water should be salty, like the sea. And although you will merge most of the salt, it will still linger a little in the pasta, and the taste of the finished dish will turn out to be richer. "

2. 2 Cook the gnocchi for about 2-4 minutes. Cook the gnocchi until tender, until it floats to the surface. Stir them occasionally while cooking to prevent them from sticking to the bottom and sticking to each other.
   • Do not add oil to the water when cooking the gnocchi. It's best to just stir them so they don't stick together.
3. 3 Remove the finished gnocchi with a slotted spoon. Turn off the heat and carefully remove the gnocchi from the hot water with a slotted spoon. Transfer them to a small saucepan.
   • It is very important to let the water drain off, otherwise the gnocchi may fall apart.
4. 4 Cook the gnocchi and sauce for another two minutes. Add your favorite sauce to the gnocchi saucepan. Turn on medium heat and cook for another two minutes. The gnocchi can now be served.
   • When cooked with sauce, the gnocchi will soften and soak in the sauce.
   • Leftover cooked gnocchi can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Vanna tran

   
   
   Experienced Cook Vanna Tran is a home cook. She started cooking at a very young age with her mother. Organizing events and dinners in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 5 years.

   Vanna tran
   Experienced chef

   Vanna Tran, an experienced chef, advises: “I like serving gnocchi with brown sage and butter sauce. To make this sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted and golden brown, add the sage to it. Then add the gnocchi to the pan and fry until a pleasant golden brown color.

Tips

• Pressing down on the gnocchi is necessary in order to create indentations in them, thanks to which the gnocchi will better hold the hot sauce.
• You can use baked potatoes instead of boiled potatoes. To do this, simply bake it in the oven until soft. The dough with these potatoes will be drier and more difficult to roll out.
• Mashed potatoes can be substituted for potatoes, although the dumplings are likely to be "heavier".
• If you want, you can freeze ready-made gnocchi: simply place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for two hours, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. In this form, gnocchi can be stored for up to two months. Whenever you need to make these gnocchi, simply boil them in boiling water, DO NOT defrost them first.

What do you need

• Measuring glasses and spoons
• Large saucepan
• Colander
• Plate
• Paper towels
• Vegetable peeling knife
• Potato grinder or grater
• A bowl
• Skimmer
• Pan
• Cutting board (optional)