Gnocchi are one of my favorite first courses. My recipe is quick and requires only two ingredients: lots of potatoes and flour. The result is truly excellent, and I would love for you to taste them before even trying them, just to show you that I’m not lying. The authenticity of these gnocchi is truly priceless.
Once cooked, they are soft and, unlike some store-bought ones, they taste like potatoes. Many people enjoy them with butter to savor their flavor.
The best potatoes to use are definitely red ones, but if you can’t find them, yellow ones will do just fine. However, it’s essential, as always, to buy them from local farmers’ markets or make a careful choice, always selecting those with darker skins.
For the flour, I recommend type 2 or 1 stone-ground, as they retain the wheat’s properties. I always suggest opting for Italian stone-ground wheat. We are what we eat, after all.
I also suggest my homemade tagliatelle, and you can accompany the gnocchi with my high hydration bread, perfect for soaking up a good sauce, or with an excellent chickpea flour focaccia, which pairs wonderfully with their taste.
Now, let’s look at the procedure together
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs potatoes
- 2 cups type 1 or 2 flour
Tools
- 1 Steamer
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Kneading Board
- 1 Potato Masher
- 1 Knife
Steps for Preparing the Gnocchi
Let’s start by peeling and cutting the potatoes into pieces. Then, place them in a steamer. If you don’t have one, you can boil them in a regular pot with plenty of water, but whole and with the skin on, and then peel them once they’re cool.
Once cooked, let them cool slightly but not chill entirely. They should be quite warm; otherwise, if they cool, the remaining water in the potato evaporates, and they become difficult to knead.
Next, mash them with a potato masher and place them on a kneading board. or a work surface. Then, add the flour and start mixing with your hands before kneading vigorously for a few minutes until you get a well-compacted dough. Then dust it with flour, and using a knife, cut it into slices.
Flour each slice and start rolling them, as shown in the picture, until you form a kind of uniform breadstick of the thickness you prefer. I like them quite thick, but it’s a matter of taste. At this point, line them up, flour them again, and cut them with a knife to a length of 0.8 inches.
And so on until the dough is finished. They’re now ready to be cooked in boiling, salted water. Once they float, they’re ready to be drained. I recommend tasting them to test their doneness.
And… enjoy your taste!
Storage and Notes
Gnocchi can be frozen or stored in the fridge for two days.
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