January Enrichment Meeting - Gnocchi Recipe

Marta shared with us her recipe for making Gnocchi (pronounced NYO-kee),

a traditional dish from her country of Argentina.  

Gnocchi are fluffy, Italian-style dumplings made of potatoes and flour.  You can serve gnocchi with any of your favorite pasta sauces, or even with a simple sauce of melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

The key to making good gnocchi is to use dry, mealy potatoes like Russets.  And we want to keep the potatoes as dry as possible. 

Ingredients:
2 pounds whole Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra flour for dusting)

1.  Boil the potatoes in a large pot until they can be pierced through with a knife.

2.  Drain and then mash the potatoes until a smooth, uniform texture is achieved.

3.  Turn out the cooked potato mixture onto a lightly floured surface, and add about half of the flour.  Knead until you have a sticky mass and keep adding flour a little at a time until the dough is smooth.  You won't necessarily use the whole amount of flour.

4.  Cut the dough into smaller sections, and roll each piece into a long cylinder about 1/2 inch in diameter.  Then cut each cylinder into individual pieces about 3/4 inch in length.

5.  Fill a large pot with water and generously salt the water with a good handful of Kosher salt.  The water should taste like seawater.  Bring the water to a boil.

6.  Meanwhile, shape the gnocchi by pressing each piece between your thumb and the tines of a fork, using a slight rolling motion.  One side of the gnocchi should have the imprint of the fork and the other side a small indentation from your thumb.

7.  When the water comes to a boil, drop the gnocchi into the water.  In about two minutes, the gnocchi will float to the surface of the water.  Let them cook about fifteen seconds more and then skim them out with a slotted spoon.

8.  Drain the gnocchi well and serve immediately topped with a basic tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, or with any of your favorite pasta sauces.