I have a confession - Gnocchi has been the one food I have refused to eat for a very long time. I don't know if it was that it contested with pasta, the absolute love of my life, or perhaps the few times I did have it in which it was overcooked or served with something gnocchi should not be served with. (I'm looking at you, ex boyfriend who put gnocchi in beef stew). A few months ago I decided it was time to grow up and light a spark between myself and gnocchi, not as a rival to pasta, but as a completely seperate dish on its own.
My first thought after tasting my first batch - I don't hate gnocchi. I hate store-bought, dry, painfully chewy gnocchi, and I owed it an apology for being so vocal about disliking it for all these years. This was airy, fluffy, and soaked up my favourite chilli pasta sauce perfectly.
I've since, dare I say it, perfected the basic gnocchi recipe and have been playing with more flavours I can add - because it's not really Bub's Grubs until I've stretched it to fit any possible meal plan. Up next: Vegan Gnocchi, but for now here's my traditional recipe:
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Gnocchi:
Your potato MATTERS. I'm never really one to chose the correct type of any vegetable I'm meant to be using. What do you mean I have to use a continental cucumber? Almost every recipe I found specifically says to use Sebago potatoes, and for once they're all right. These creamy gems have the perfect amount of moisture in them to prevent soggy gnocchi, and don't taste too starchy either.
Skip the fork markings. They look super cute but I've noticed that rolling the dough across the fork compacts it, making it denser and less fluffy. Little pillows are way tastier.
They'll tell you when they're done. Don't set a timer, and for the love of God don't leave the kitchen when you put these little babies in the pot. They cook very quickly, and will rise when ready. Take them out immediately.
Ingredients:
2 or 3 Sebago Potatoes (around 400g), Peeled
1 egg
1 Cup Plain Flour
Salt and Pepper, to season
Let's Make this Gnocchi:
Dice your potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a pot of boiling water. Boil potatoes until fully cooked through.
Strain potatoes and return to the pot they cooked in to cool. The pot will be hot and help the excess moisture escape.
In a food processor, add the potatoes and blitz until smooth. Add the egg, followed by the flour gradually, blitzing as you go. Once the mixture is full combined, it should look like a smooth dough.
Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until soft. This usually only takes a few minutes, and the dough will turn from sticky to light and fluffy.
Cut the dough into 4 equal parts and roll each one out until the log is about 1/2 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into little pillows, around an inch long. I like to put each piece of gnocchi onto a lined baking tray to make transport to the stove easy, and prevent them from sticking to each other.
Once all pillows are made, bring a wide pot to the boil - I like to use my sauce pot so I have a greater surface area for more gnocchi and less chances of sticking. Add as many pieces that can comfortably fit in the pot without touching and cook for around 3 minutes. As soon as they float to the top, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put straight into your serving bowl. Add your favourite sauce on top.
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