Gnocchi is the term given to any small dumpling that is common throughout northern Italy. Many varieties exist, but this recipe is perhaps the most well known. Some other types include gnocchi di zucca,
which is made from a variety of squash/pumpkin in Lombardy; gnocchi di riso, which is made from leftover rice in Reggio-Emilia; and gnocchi di polenta, which is made from leftover polenta in the northernmost part of the country.
Ingredients
- 6 lb Russet Potatoes
- 1 lb + 6 oz All-Purpose (A.P.) Flour
- ¼ cup Rosemary, minced (optional)
- 3 Tbsp Salt
- 6 oz Butter, melted
- ¼ cup Sage Leaves, packed (about 1 average bunch)
How to Make It
- Preheat oven to 300 D F, and bring two pots of salted water to a boil.
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes; cook until potatoes are tender throughout (do not allow the potatoes to disintegrate while cooking from being overcooked).
- Strain potatoes in a colander and allow to cool slightly before peeling them (the potatoes can be peeled first, in which case they will be more moist and require slightly longer in the oven).
- Put the potatoes on a sheet pan, and place them in the oven for 5 minutes to dry slightly.
- Pass potatoes through a food mill into a mixing bowl, and season with salt and rosemary (if desired).
- Slowly add the flour to the potatoes while kneading the resulting dough with your free hand, using your knuckles to work the flour into the center while you knead.
- Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough loses its sticky nature and develops some structure. At this point, stop kneading or adding flour, and turn the dough to the bench.
- Once on the bench, break the dough into approximately eight pieces and work with each one individually, rolling each into a cylinder approximately the thickness of a penny.
- Once the dough has been rolled into cylinders, cut each cylinder into ¾-inch lengths and make the characteristic indentations, using a gnocchi paddle, fork, or grater.
- In the second pot of boiling salted water, cook the gnocchi until they float (2 minutes), and then remove them with a slotted spoon.
- Once the gnocchi have drained, toss with melted butter and sage; serve.
