Gnocchi is a tough one. Starting with how to pronounce it: NYO-kee, like the “ny” sound from “canyon” but with a long “o” sound after.
Then is the texture: light and fluffy in the mouth, but settles really heavy in the stomach if you eat too much. (My father-in-law — both parents Italian immigrants — said when he was growing up they called gnocchi “sinkers”.)
The secret, I’ve decided, is to remember that they are, after all, mostly potatoes. Would you eat a plate full of mashed potatoes as the main dish? Not likely. But as a side dish, with a little pesto and parmigiano-reggiano … yes, I’m talking about the gnocchi again … these are quick and easy and really delicious.
Ingredients
3 pounds russet or baking potatoes (something you’d use for mashed potatoes)
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 large or extra-large egg
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Scrub the potatoes, cut into quarters, and put in a pot of boiling water.
When they are soft enough that you can stick a knife all the way through the thickest piece easily, 20-30 minutes, drain them in a colander.
Let them cool until you can handle them, and peel the skins off. They should come off without much effort.
Press them through a potato ricer, or mash by hand until very smooth.
Add the flour and salt, and beat on low speed just until the flour is all incorporated.
Add the egg, and beat again on low speed for 3-4 minutes.
Don’t over-knead the dough. If you develop the gluten in the flour — which you normally want to do when making bread — the gnocchi will be tough and chewy. Ecch.
Place about a half-cup of flour on a clean surface and roll out the dough, a little at a time, into long thin rolls.
It’s going to be very sticky, so put plenty of flour on your hands before handling the dough.
Cut the roll into one-inch segments.
Press each segment between your thumb and a tines of a fork. This will produce the ridges that hold onto whatever sauce you’re going to use.
When you first put them in the water, they will sink to the bottom. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon when they float to the top.
Work in batches for this part. Roll one segment, cut it, press the shape in and drop them in the water. While they’re cooking, roll and cut the next segment. By the time you’ve done that, the first batch should be floating. Yes, it’s that quick.
If you’re not going to serve everything right away, keep a bowl of ice-water handy. Put the finished gnocchi in that to stop the cooking process. Then put them on a sheet of wax or parchment paper on a baking sheet and freeze them. Transfer the frozen gnocchi to a zip-top freezer bag until ready to eat. Re-heat by tossing them in boiling water until they float again.
The classic topping for gnocchi is pesto. I’ve still got some frozen pesto left that I made from basil I grew a couple of summers ago. Yup, two-year-old frozen pesto, and it’s still good. Two tablespoons of it in with the gnocchi …
… plus about a quarter-cup of extra virgin olive oil …
… a quick toss, and then topped with fresh grated parmiggiano-reggiano.
And that’s it.
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33 Comments
Love gnocchi, but I’m terrible with anything involving a dough. Out of curiosity, have you ever made gnocchi with sweet potato? What kind of sauce might go well with that?
It is FANTASTIC with sweet potato! Try adding in some sage (chopped finely and mixed with the sweet potato). You could also make it with half potato and half sweet potato (I tried this the first time I did it – personally, I wouldn’t bother with this – it doesn’t taste enough of the sweet potato). The only thing is to make sure you don’t add too much flower – keep a light touch and be parsimonious with flour… otherwise you end up with hard little gnocchi that are inedible (yes… I speak from experience!).
For a sauce you can try lots of things – but a burnt butter sauce is great (http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=781795).
Grr – it’s early! Please read “flower” as “flour”! Don’t know what I was thinking
I haven’t tried it, but if I did I’d go with a cinnamon/brown-sugar/butter sauce. Basically the same things you’d put on a sweet potato normally.
I tried these once… not easy! Looks easy… so maybe with a little practice… like making bread (that required a LOT of failure!) What would you serve with these, I mean, they most naturally accompany ____________ … ?
Now there’s a thought… how about offering up a menu in your intro — to go with your recipe that follows! I know, I know… more work for you… a job is never done! lol
Barbara, the only hard part was how much it wanted to stick to my hands. Just keep rubbing them in flour before rolling things out and you’ll be fine.
I make them with sweet potatoes & whole wheat flour. YUM. I eat them with butter & cinnamon/sugar. The leftovers make a good breakfast, too.
The traditional ones are great, too! Thanks for posting this. I think I’ll make some this weekend…
Well, that confirms it then: butter/sugar/cinnamon it is.
If you want to, they’re also good lightly browned in olive oil in a frying pan (after boiled) and then you just add some salvia, salt and pepper…MMMMMhhhh with a salad it’s really good!
I thought about that too. I sort of wish I had, because I would have realized much sooner that they were a side dish. Little Italian tater tots.
Would I eat a plate full of mashed potatoes for a meal? No, of course not. I eat a BOWL full, with obscene quantities of melted cheese in there for good measure. I am not known for my restraint when it comes to potatoes.
I absolutely LOVE gnocchi. I’ve had them with a tomato cream sauce, Gorgonzola & walnuts, but I can see the appeal of the pesto. I can see my next weekend project is right here.
This looks wonderful. I have never had gnocchi before (it doesn’t seem to be a big part of the cuisine here in GA) but I will definitely try this recipe.
Drew, I’m having a crisis. I want to make your frozen chocolate truffle pie for a friend and the link doesn’t work. Help!?
Alison, it’s right here: http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2008/06/frozen-chocolate-truffle-pie/ Did you have the link saved somewhere? Or do I have a broken link on the site. Either way, it’s supposed to still get there, but if it’s not working I’d like to get it fixed.
We love gnocchi here! I actually created a recipe where you use potato flakes to make it and it much, much easier than making it the “long” way. The one time I made it the regular way, I just knew there had to have been an easier way to make it.
I make a big batch, make some and serve it in a small bowl with chunky marinara sauce. The rest gets flash-freezed and placed into baggies for future winter meals.
We also go the cinnamon/sugar/butt route! So nice to see that other families do it as well. It’s a great breakfast or dessert.
Wholly typos, Batman!
I meant to say “IT’S much easier” and “cinnamon/sugar/butter”….
No wonder Drew didn’t respond to my post. I sound like a blubbering idiot
p
No, I was just too busy laughing at the idea of “cinnamon/sugar/butt” for breakfast.
Where I live, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, the big specialty is Pumpkin Gnocchi (Gnocchi di Zucca). Its still got potato involved, but the pumpkin makes them quite a bit lighter and easier to digest. They’re really awesome with Ragu. Pesto is the Genovese method for all types of Gnocchi, Ragu in Bologna, Tomato and Basil in Naples. I live ten minutes drive from where they make Grana (Parmigiano-Reggiano), and where they make the best Balsamic Vinegar in the world. I didn’t like Balsamic before I tried the original one. Its so thick you could put it on pancakes (although I wouldn’t recommend it).
Love Gnocchi! I’ll be following your site! I’m glad I’ve found it!
Love Gnocchi! Glad I found you site – I’ll be following!
Kate, every time you post here it sounds like bragging. I know you don’t mean to, but I’m so jealous. (Looking out the window at the snow on the ground and the icicles hanging from my neighbors’ houses isn’t helping any.)
Just passing along a cultural exchange, thats all! And don’t worry… I had to stay home from work today because they didn’t salt our country road overnight and we got 6 inches of snow. My little Smart car can’t take the pressure! But I really think you should try making Pumpkin Gnocchi. They’re, in my opinion, a LOT easier on the tummy (AKA you can eat a LOT more of them!). Maybe one of these days you’ll get a pack in the mail with a bottle of the black stuff and a big hunk of Grana in it, eh? Just sayin’. It could happen.
Just so you feel better, Drew, the road outside our house is still a sheet of ice about 1-1 1/2 inches thick.
When we made gnocchi at the restaurant, we mixed them on a large board using two bench knives–a sure fire way to keep from activating the gluten. Of course, it takes awhile to perfect the cut and toss. Plus, it just takes a long time to mix without using a conventional mixing technique. The payoff is that they always turned out light and fluffy and wonderful.
I won a free dessert at a fine dining restaurant when the server foolishly bet me that I couldn’t eat my whole serving of gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce. Silly man–he didn’t know me. And I enjoyed every bite of my free chocolate dessert, too!
Drew,
Hi, I found your website when I was looking for a good brownie recipe for my son. I have now subscribed to your newsletters and emails and got your cookbook also. I love your cooking style. I also like real food, made with real food, for real people.
Thanks for the gnocchi recipe and the play by play pictures. That really helps. We serve a chicken gnocchi soup at work and I hear people say the word and I think they are not pronouncing it correctly. I think it is — No Key — with the G silent. Girls at work call it –GaNoKey prounouncing the G. Any help with this. I saw that you associated it like “canyon” the Nyo, but with my southern accent I can’t hear the nyo in “canyon”. I don’t do well with Phonics.
Also what is a good pesto recipe, that is quick, simple and my boys will eat. They don’t particularly like green food. By the way I mentioned that I have a Southern accent and that is true I’m from NC, but live in Utah and have for the last 21 years.
LeAnne
LeAnne, trying to “correctly” pronounce an Italian word with a southern accent is … challenging, I guess. Since I can’t figure out how to say “canyon” without hearing the “nyo”, I can’t help you here.
For pesto, take fresh basil leaves and process in a food processor with just enough olive oil to keep it all moving around on its own. You might add a little garlic and/or salt, or leave that out and add it once you put it on the pasta.
If they don’t like green food, you’re in trouble with pesto. It’s about as green as any sauce you’re going to put on pasta.
I make this by hand with my Italian grandmother, and we serve it with sage leaves sauteed in brown butter. And usually as a side dish to a roast.
I’ve never tried to make it in the Kitchen-Aid, so I wonder how that affects the texture. Curious.
In Argentina, where I live, we write “ñoquis” not Gnocchi… but the pronuntiation is the same.
I love ñoquis! je.
I just made this for an impromptu dinner party; they were a big hit! These seemed a little intimidating at first but were actually not intimidating at all. They were easy and I will definitely make them again, with some variations. My girlfriend and I are going to try making them with different sauces in addition to the pesto. Fantastic!!!!!
Andrew, did you do them as the main dish or a side?
Main dish.
Whoa baby! that was a large time commitment! I’m a poor college student trying to save money which means no more eating out. (Although I no longer like eating out because I can make it at home for cheaper and healthier.) Over Christmas, I went to Olive Garden twice and had the chicken and gnocchi as well as chicken gnocchi soup. And then I found this website and this recipe showed up so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’ve only had gnocchi twice and am inexperienced at bread and pasta making. I’m undecided about my results. i couldn’t get mine to slice like in the pictures. It was really mushy and didn’t keep it’s shape and then when I made the marks with a fork, they just squished out sideways. Some of them were too mushy and when I put a cup of them in a soup (mock Olive Garden recipe) it still tasted good but mushy. I froze the rest and some of them seemed more firm as i put them on the tray than the ones i used. Any advice on what to do the next time? maybe I didn’t have enough potatoes or too many? (I estimated 3 pounds…)
I love the site btw! I made the brownie cake with a chocolate glaze for a superbowl party and everyone raved about it! Can’t wait to try out some more recipes!
Maggie, if it’s too mushy add a little more flour, but go easy. You want just enough flour and just enough kneading to hold everything together. If you go too far they’ll end up chewy. If they held together enough to cook in soup, then you were really close to the right amount.