Homemade gnocchi

Just so that I can gross you out right at the start, my mother-in-law calls gnocchi "grub larvae".  But she still loves to eat them.

So about six months ago, an Amazon box arrived on my front porch with a ricer in it and a note from my friend Anne that said "I don't know what the hell this is, but enjoy it".  It had been on my Amazon wishlist for a few months, and she randomly sent it to me.  Cause she is awesome.

Anne came up last weekend for Jack's birthday party, and as she loves gnocchi, I decided to make them for her.  It was the least I could do.  But I also spit in her serving.  For no reason.  She probably deserved it.

This is Anne.  And her sweet ninja bubble popping moves.  Jack is wearing Batman pajamas.  Just cause'

The gnocchi recipe comes from here.


You'll need
1.5 lbs of potatoes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup of flour (I used freshly ground soft white)

1) Generally you don't need to peel potatoes with the ricer, but I wanted to make extra sure that no peels got in the pasta, so I pre-peeled them.  Then boiled them until soft.

2) Pass the potatoes through the ricer, and allow the "rice" to cool on cookie sheets for 15-20 minutes.  It is very important that you use the world's dirtiest looking cookie sheets.

3) Add your beaten egg, flour, and salt and pepper to the potatoes.  I found mixing it with my hands to be the easiest.

4) Make a ball and then cut in to 4 pieces.

5) Take each piece, and make a "rope" with well-floured hands on a well-floured surface.

6) Use a pastry cutter, or a knife (make sure you're dipping whatever you use in flour), and cut the gnocchi.

7) If you want, roll the pieces on the tines of a fork.  I laid the "completed" version on my dirty ass baking sheets to dry out for a few hours.

8) Bring a pot of water with kosher salt and olive oil to a boil.  Add your gnocchi.  When they float to the top, they're done!  Drain and serve with toppings of your choice.

These were VERY easy to make, and I'll definitely make them again.  Next time I'll triple the batch and let them freeze on the (dirty) baking sheets in the freezer, and then will store them in Ziplocs for future meals!