Author Notes
Think of toothy fresh linguine as a nice chewy Parisian baguette bread and airy potato gnocchi as a tender southern biscuits. When you are making linguine or a baguette you are trying to develop gluten, which gives them their structure. With gnocchi and biscuits, though, you don’t want lots of gluten to develop. To avoid it, be careful not to knead the batter more than absolutely necessary. If you like, make this simple Bolognese sauce for the gnocchi: https://food52.com/recipes.... They're also great with a brown butter and sage sauce. —Jonathon Sawyer
Ingredients
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2
Idaho potatoes
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1 1/2 to 2 cups
all-purpose flour
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3
large organic eggs, beaten
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1 tablespoon
cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
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6 tablespoons
chopped fresh herbs (choose your favorite: oregano, parsley, basil)
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2 tablespoons
Parmesan cheese
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2 tablespoons
toasted bread crumbs
Directions
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Preheat oven to 325° F and roast the potatoes until fully cooked through, about 50 minutes. (Tip: A cake tester makes a great potato tester. When it goes through the potato without resistance, the potato is done.) Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature.
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Spilt the potatoes and scoop out all the flesh, leaving all the skin behind. Use the food mill, potato ricer, or potato masher to mash the potatoes.
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Combine potatoes with 1 1/2 cups flour in the stand mixer or on a cutting board. If using the cutting board, shape the potato-flour mixture into a volcano shape to contain the eggs during the mixing process. Add eggs to the mixer or “volcano” and stir until just combined. The dough should be slightly sticky, but if it is too sticky, add more flour. Shape the dough into a rectangle and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
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Dust a wooden cutting board with flour. Cut a 1-inch-wide piece from the dough rectangle and roll the piece of dough between your hands on the cutting board to make a long cylinder or snake about as thick as roll of quarters. Cut the cylinder into 1-inch pieces. Place on a flour-dusted cookie sheet and store in the freezer.
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STOP (if you want)! Gnocchi can be made in advance and frozen until you are ready to use them.
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In large saucepan, warm up your sauce over low heat (Classic brown butter and sage sauce, tomato sauce, or this simple Bolognese are great with gnocchi: https://food52.com/recipes/29580-simple-bolognese-sauce).
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Fill a large pot with water and season with salt until it tastes like sea water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Blanch 8 gnocchi at a time, for about 7 minutes per batch. Gnocchi are done when they bob to the top and float there for a minute. Transfer each batch of gnocchi to your sauce and simmer for an additional 3 minutes to allow the noodle and sauce to become one.
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Garnish with olive oil, herbs, bread crumbs and Parmesan.
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