Instant, Pillowy Potato Gnocchi (You Bet There's a Secret Ingredient)

To close my residency here at Food52, I’m really excited to show how versatile potatoes are (and easy to cook!). I am an Irish girl, after all…

Here are two of my favorite recipes—then scroll on for my posts on pasta.

I'm a curious person and have always wanted to push boundaries and experiment. Working with what my mother had in her kitchen at home, I began doctoring up canned food at age 13—from marinara sauce to clam chowder. You can make some really delicious (and unexpected) dishes out of inexpensive, packaged foods. You might think I'm crazy, but you can make pretty great gnocchi from instant potato flakes... don't knock it 'till you try it.

These potatoes—supremely creamy on the inside, crackly-crispy on the outside—are great with any meat or fish, but I especially love them with lobster and butter.

Barbara Lynch is our first guest chef in residence—catch up on her other entries here, and check out her memoir, Out of Line.