Homemade Gnocchi

My first gnocchi take me back to my first year of college, my first year away from home. I was a real geek or a lazy cook then. Just like my fellow students, all I wanted was something quick and easy for supper, so that I could go back to my books ASAP.

Sure enough, I found them in the fresh pasta section of the local Franprix: all I had to do was get a saucepan of salty water boiling, drop the gnocchi in and wait for them to float. All that in less then 5 mins!!! Quicker than spaghetti or tagliatelle, full of creamy goodness!

I rediscovered the potato dumplings at our favourite Italian shop last year and I finally decided to take up the challenge and make my own with Adam’s potatoes. Nothing compares to homemade gnocchi! The keys to light and fluffy gnocchi are sieving, instead of mashing, the potatoes and adding as little flour as possible.

To enjoy with a sprinkle of parmegian or a spicy tomato sauce! Yum!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 pound baking potatoes

½ to ¾ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup romano cheese

1 large egg

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Wash and prickle the potatoes with a fork.

3. Wrap the potatoes in foil and bake for about 1 hr, until tender. You can also boil the potatoes but you will loose the flavours in the water.

4. When the potatoes are soft, peel their skin off.

5. Press the hot potatoes through a sieve using a spoon.6. Spread the fluffy potato strands onto a floured board.

7. Let cool to room temperature.

8. Sprinkle the flour and the cheese on the potatoes.

9. Make a well in the middle. 10. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with the nutmeg. Season to taste.

11. Pour the egg mixture into the well.

12. Lightly knead the potato and egg mixture for 1-2 mins to form a ball.

13. Divide the ball into six smaller balls with floured hands.

14. On a floured board, roll each ball into a one-inch thick rope.

15. Cut the ropes into one inch segments and shape the gnocchi with a fork.

16. To cook, heat some salted water to aboil and drop the gnocchi into the water. The gnocchi is ready to serve when they reappear at the surface. You can also keep the gnocchi on floured parchment paper until you are ready cook them.