Who hasn’t ever rolled up their sleeves to prepare these soft potato gems? Gnocchi, undisputed rulers of Thursday lunches, at least in the capital and in some regions of central Italy. So simple yet tricky to obtain the right consistency. There are indeed several tricks to keep in mind for a perfect outcome, those that only grandmothers know. We have whispered in our ears the secrets to perfect gnocchi and… since we are not jealous guardians of recipes, we thought of sharing them with you! Discover how to prepare potato gnocchi with or without eggs, soft delicate pillows perfect for any seasoning: from the classic Sorrentina sauce to delicate and creamy ones like with stracchino cheese and spinach and rustic ones like the four-cheese gnocchi or with speck and walnuts. This time, if someone tells you “laugh, laugh, mom made gnocchi,” you can smile beatifically and say “No, I made them, the potato gnocchi… and they were the tastiest I ever had!”
In the winter season, try also the pumpkin and toma gratin gnocchi or the ricotta ones, in spring you can taste our zucchini gnocchi, and in summer the Parmigiana gnocchi, finally in autumn try our potato treats with mushrooms!
Ingredients for potato gnocchi:
Red potatoes: 1 kg
00300 g flour
1 egg
Salt to taste
Semolina flour to taste
Preparation of potato gnocchi:
1. To prepare potato gnocchi, start by boiling them: in a large pot, place the potatoes and cover with plenty of cold water. Once the water is boiling, count about 30-40 minutes, depending on their size. Test them with a fork and if the prongs easily enter the middle, then you can drain them.
2. Mash the potatoes while they are still hot with the flour that you have sifted onto the pastry board and which you have placed in a fountain; there is no need to peel them because the skin will remain inside the potato masher. Then add the lightly beaten egg along with a pinch of salt.
3. Knead everything with your hands until you obtain a soft but compact dough. Remember that if you work the dough too much, the gnocchi will become hard during cooking, so limit yourself to kneading when necessary.
4. Take a portion of the dough, and with the tips of your fingers, roll it out into 2-centimeter-thick fillets. To do this, use semolina flour to help you occasionally dust the pastry board. In the meantime, cover the remaining dough with a cloth to prevent it from drying out.
5. Cut the fillets into small chunks and, making slight pressure with the thumb, drag them on the gnocchi board to obtain the classic shape. If you don’t have a gnocchi board, you can use a fork and drag them on the prongs. In both cases, use semolina flour to prevent them from sticking. As you prepare the potato gnocchi, place them on a tray with a slightly floured cloth, well spaced apart.
6. If you intend to cook them, you can pour them a few at a time into boiling, salted water; as soon as they come to the surface, the gnocchi are considered cooked and ready to be drained and seasoned.
For the version without eggs:
1. Mash the potatoes while they are still hot on the pastry board with the help of a potato masher. Add flour and salt, and knead by hand to obtain a soft but compact mixture.
2. Take a portion of the mixture at a time and shape it into 2-cm-thick fillets using your fingertips. Cut the fillets into small chunks and pass each piece of dough on a gnocchi board or on the prongs of a fork, pressing lightly with your thumb. Cook the egg-free gnocchi in plenty of boiling salted water and drain them as soon as they come to the surface.
Storage:
Potato gnocchi can be kept raw while leaving them on a cloth for up to a couple of hours, in this case, the cooking will be slightly longer because they will have dried out in the air.
You can also freeze the gnocchi, in this case, put the tray in the freezer and after about 20 minutes, place the potato gnocchi in a food bag, and continue until they are all frozen. To cook them, just throw them into boiling salted water without thawing them first.
Tips:
What is the secret to perfect gnocchi? It’s all a matter of potatoes! Red ones are perfect, but so are mountain or aged potatoes… the important thing is that they are not new potatoes because they contain too much water. Ideal potatoes are rich in starch and poor in water so they need less flour to be mixed.
If you don’t have a potato masher, you can peel the potatoes and mash them with a fork!
Try the recipe for potato cavatelli that combines two great classics like cavatelli and gnocchi!
And for an autumn version, try chestnut gnocchi!