Gnocchi is a versatile little potato dumpling with trademark grooves on one side. Homemade gnocchi is worth the effort once in a while, just like all homemade pasta and dumplings. If you make a double batch, you can save half in the freezer. I’ll make the gnocchi today and then use it in a couple of different recipes later. For the dough, I usually double the recipe below which is a simplified version of a December 2011 Bon Appetit recipe. My version is different because you don’t have to boil the potatoes whole and then try to work with them or wait until they cool through the center.
While I was cutting the dough into gnocchi, I had to leave the house to drive my daughter to a birthday party. The dough will dry out fairly quickly so I wet a linen dishtowel, wrung the water out of it, and laid it over the dough. It needed a light dusting of flour when I got home because it was on the sticky side, but that’s better than drying out.
Gnocchi is time-consuming to make but particularly fun if you have a potato ricer that you can finally pull off of display. I have a short video below to show how to take the inch-long dough pieces and make the gnocchi; there are different techniques but I just roll a fork over the cut side.
Gnocchi
1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 C shredded Parmesan
1 C flour (plus more for work surface)
1 t sea salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t fresh ground pepper
Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water by 1”. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 25 minutes. Drain; set aside and let cool slightly.
Whisk egg and egg yolk in a small bowl to blend. Put potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. Add eggs, and rest of ingredients to potatoes. Using your hands, gently mix to form a soft and only slightly sticky dough; add a little more flour if necessary. Transfer dough to a floured surface; divide in 4 pieces.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; dust with flour. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll dough into a 24”-long rope. Cut crosswise into 1” pieces. Working with one piece at a time, press lightly on gnocchi with the back of fork tines and gently roll to create ridges on one side. Set aside on prepared baking sheet.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches of about 15-20 at a time, put gnocchi in boiling water, stir once, and cook 2 minutes until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon.
