This is a great way to use up baked or boiled potatoes. You can make gnocchi with just flour and eggs, but potato gives it a beautiful, light, fluffy texture, while the ricotta adds a rich creaminess. When you see what a beautiful meal this makes, you won’t believe it all started with leftover potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 1 thyme sprig, leaves only
- Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
For the Sauce
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup peas, shelled if fresh, defrosted if frozen
- Butter
- 1 thyme sprig, leaves only
- 1 lemon zest
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Bake the potatoes in their skins for 1–1¼ hours until tender all the way through. Remove the flesh from the skins (ideally while still warm) and mash until smooth—a potato ricer works best here. Mix in the ricotta, a pinch of salt and white pepper, and the flour. Make a well in the middle, add the beaten egg, and begin to combine the mixture with floured hands. Work in the thyme leaves and continue until a smooth dough has formed. (Be careful not to overwork it or the dough will end up too dense and won’t expand when it goes into the water.)
- Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a long cigar shape about ½ inch thick. Using the back of a floured table knife, cut each length of dough into ¾-inch pieces to make “pillows” or individual gnocchi. Gently press each one in the center using your floured finger. The dent will hold more sauce and allow the gnocchi to take on more flavor.
- Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi, tilting the pan from side to side briefly to keep them from sticking together, then simmer for about 1½–2 minutes until they start to float. Drain the gnocchi and leave them to steam-dry for 1–2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, start to make the sauce. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. Add the gnocchi to the hot pan with a pinch of salt and black pepper and sauté for 1–2 minutes on each side until nicely colored.
- Add the peas to the pan with a chunk of butter and the thyme leaves. Toss to heat through, then add the lemon zest. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
