How to Make Perfect Potato Gnocchi
Gnocchi are wonderful little potato pasta that have variations all over Italy. In fact, gnocchi is one of the original forms of pasta with recipes dating back to the 14th Century and likely a few undocumented centuries sooner and, like ravioli, was invented as a way to use up leftover ingredients, in this case potatoes, that would otherwise go bad in the time when modern refrigeration was centuries away. It truly defines the way frugal cooks would get inventive and creative with what little they might have.
Today, I’m going to share all of my top tips and tricks on how to make perfect gnocchi from scratch at home.
Tip #1: Choose the Right Potatoes
Since gnocchi is a potato dumpling, the kind of potatoes you use really does matter. Waxy red-skinned potatoes, like the kind you roast and serve with your steak, are great for some things but gnocchi is not one of them.
What you want to go with is starchy potatoes and the king of all starchy potatoes has to be russets. They’re cheap, they’re always available, and they’re full of the starch necessary to make a light, fluffy gnocchi. Also, pick potatoes that are the same or relatively the same size as they will cook evenly…obviously.
Tip #2: Cook Your Potatoes Properly
While classic gnocchi is made with leftover boiled or baked potatoes, and you can certainly go that route if you wish, there’s also nothing wrong with cooking your potatoes the same day you want to make your gnocchi. Honestly, if you can make great mashed potatoes, then you already know how to cook your potatoes for gnocchi, but let’s just go over the rules.
Leave the skin on your potatoes, the skin actually protects the flesh of the potato from absorbing too much water, start the potatoes in cold water and bring that to a boil so the potatoes cook evenly, and cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until you can stick a knife into it and it’ll easily slide out.
If you have the time, however, I also recommend baking your potatoes as that gives them a bit of extra flavor, I’ll leave instructions for both.
Tip #3: Mash it up!
When it comes to mashing your potatoes for gnocchi, there’s a few ways you can go. You can get at it with a fork or potato masher to get light texture, or you can pass the potatoes through a ricer or food mill to make the potato flesh very fine for a smooth gnocchi dough. I like the ricer because it means you don’t have to mess with taking the skin off of the hot potatoes; just cut them in half and push them through the fine mill setting and the skin will separate from the flesh.
Whatever you do, do not mash the potatoes with anything electric like a mixer or, heaven forbid, a food processor. Doing so, you’ll run the risk of over-beating the starch in the potatoes and end up with a gummy mess that has the texture of school glue.
Tip #4: Let it snow!…or not
Now it is time for a crucial moment in the gnocchi-making process: adding the flour. this is where things can go from bad to worse. If you don’t add enough flour to your gnocchi dough, it’ll fall apart as you cook it, but if you add too much flour, then your gnocchi will take on a very dense bread-like texture rather than a fluffy, light pillow.
The best way to know if you have enough flour in your gnocchi dough is by doing a tester. Take a little piece of dough, doesn’t have to be much larger than a blueberry, and plop that into a pot of simmering water. Wait for that to float to float to the surface, then toss it around a little bit. If that dough piece can hold together, then you’re good to go! If not, then add a little bit more flour.
Also, don’t get skimpy on the salt. Remember, these are potatoes and if you don’t aggressively season them, then your gnocchi will be bland.
Tip #5: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling! Gnocchi are a-rolling!
There are lots of ways people roll out and cut their gnocchi dough, and there’s no real wrong way to do it, but the way I like to do it is this: Take pieces of dough and roll it into thick logs, about 1 inch thick, then take a floured knife or pastry cutter and cut it into 1/2 inch thick pieces.
By the way, don’t freak out if your gnocchi aren’t all the exact same shape and size. That’s the beauty of rustic home cooking like this, what matters most is that your gnocchi are fluffy and taste great!
Tip #6: Time to Cook!
Now is the step that’s as important as how you make your gnocchi, cooking them. The only thing you need to remember about this step is to not drop your gnocchi into boiling water because that rapid boil can cause your gnocchi to fall apart and you’ll end up with chunky potato soup, even worse is that all of that work you just put in to make your gnocchi beautiful just went to waste.
You want to make sure your water is at a gentle simmer before you put your gnocchi in. It won’t seem like they’re doing much for the first minute or two, but be patient and wait for your gnocchi to float to the top of the water before you sauce and serve.
As for serving, there’s about as many ways to do this as there are grandmothers in Italy. The classics would be brown butter and fresh sage, you could do a tomato sauce, some pesto, however you want to serve your gnocchi is up to you!
Although, one last tip, I like to saute my gnocchi in a pan after they’re done blanching so they get a golden, slightly crisp outside along with that fluffy inside.
Ok, having gone through all of that, let’s do a quick review with a very classic recipe. This gnocchi recipe comes from Montese, a town in the mountains just south of Bologna. Also, while a good handful of gnocchi recipes contain egg, this one does not and I am here to respect tradition.
Plus, if you don’t top your gnocchi with cheese, then this does qualify as a vegan recipe, which I think is nice.
Easy Homemade Gnocchi
3 pounds of starchy potatoes such as Russets
Salt
Pepper
3 cups of flour, plus more for dusting
For Boiling: Place your whole potatoes, skin and all, into a pot big enough to fit them. Cover with cold water, then bring the water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, then boil the potatoes for about 20-25 minutes, or until you can easily slide a knife through, then drain.
For Baking: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Once the oven is hot, jab your potatoes all over with a fork, rub with oil, then bake directly on the oven rack for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
When the potatoes are cool enough that you can handle them, cut them in half then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, then mash the flesh with either a potato masher or a ricer to get a fine texture. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Add the flour, then mix with a stiff spoon until you get a slightly sticky, crumbly dough. Dump the dough onto a floured surface, then gently knead until the dough is smooth, but not much after that. Remember, this isn’t bread, the more you knead your gnocchi dough, the tougher it’ll be in the end.
(The cool part about making gnocchi is you don’t need to let the dough rest before rolling it out.)
With floured hands, roll out portions of your dough into 1-inch thick snakes, then use a floured knife or pastry cutter to cut the dough into 1/2-inch pieces.
Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle simmer. Gently lower your gnocchi into the water, give the pot a few turns to keep the gnocchi from sticking, then cook for 4-5 minutes, or until all of your gnocchi are floating to the surface of the water. Drain, then sauce and garnish how you wish.
What I love about gnocchi, other than the fact that it tastes great, is that it really does give you a sense of Italian history through these little pillows of potatoy love.
