Loaded Baked Potato Gnocchi
Potatoes are one of the most quintessential vegetables on the planet, and it seems like cultures all over the world have their own unique ways of doing spuds. From the French pommes puree to Jewish latkes to the classics like French fries, and of course the Italians have the beloved (by me) gnocchi.
It is hard to resist those tender, soft pillows of potato love, and since they don’t require a rolling pin or any special tools or equipment, unless you want one of those grooved gnocchi boards, it is one of the easiest forms of pasta you could possibly make.
However, with such a classic, sometimes you just want to get a bit adventurous and see what sort of flavors or ingredients you could add to make this humble dish shine, so I thought I’d give classic gnocchi a twist with another potato classic that everyone loves, loaded baked potato.
My plan is to make a classic gnocchi finished in butter and to give it some of my favorite loaded baked potato toppings such as bacon, cheese, sour cream and green onions. However, to take it a step further, I’m going to save the skin from my potato and air fry that for a wonderfully crunchy garnish.
My mouth is watering at the thought so let’s jump right into it!
Serves 4
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2 hours
For the Gnocchi:
4 large potatoes
Vegetable oil, for drizzling
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
3 cups flour
For the toppings and assembly:
4 strips of bacon, cubed
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash your potatoes thoroughly then jab all over with a fork. Coat the potatoes in oil, then bake directly on the oven rack for 1-1 1/4 hours, or until soft to the touch.
(You can boil your potatoes if you want to, but I like the extra flavor baking the potatoes gives)
Let the potatoes cool until you can touch them without burning your hands, then cut in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, keeping the skin as intact as possible.
Use a potato masher or ricer to smash the potatoes into tiny pieces, then season generously with salt and pepper. (It’s best to taste and season your potatoes now before you make your gnocchi dough) Beat in the eggs then add the flour, a little bit at a time, until you get a ball of dough that doesn’t stick to the sides of your bowl. Dump the dough onto a floured surface then knead for about 2 minutes, or until it all comes together into a smooth ball.
(The cool part about gnocchi is you don’t need to let the dough rest). Working with 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll out the gnocchi dough into 1-inch thick lengths. Cut each length into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
For the crispy potato skin garnish, lay the reserved skins into a 350 degree air fryer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until browned and crispy. (You could also pop them back into the oven.) Set aside to cool.
Bring a pot of salted water to a simmer. Add the bacon to a cold nonstick pan, then cook over medium-low heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is very crispy. Set aside onto paper towels then pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.
When the water is hot, lower in the gnocchi and cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until the gnocchi begins to float to the surface of the water. Meanwhile, switch on the broiler.
When the gnocchi begins to float, melt the butter in the same pan used to cook the bacon over medium heat. Once cooked, drain and add your gnocchi to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides. Sprinkle over the grated cheese and broil until melted.
To serve, divide the gnocchi among plates then top with the reserved bacon, a dollop of sour cream, some green onions, and crumble over those crispy potato skins.
