Gnocchi di Patate – Italian Potatoes Dumplings

 

Quanto sono buoni i gnocchi! Do you know gnocchi, the Italian potatoes dumplings?

They are served as pasta, with tomatoes sauce, with Parmesan cheese, with heated butter with sage.

In the shops most gnocchi are made mostly with semolina, but the Italian housewives are used to prepare this with potatoes because they are more tasty and I imagine that potatoes were available from the own vegetable garden (people had to buy flour). Another great variation is with the addition of pumpkin which was previous cooked in the oven in order to get a better taste and to reduce water content.

I don’t know why I forget to prepare gnocchi more often as they are light delicious and easy to prepare. We were used to prepare lot of them, this saves the time for the 2, 3… meal but it was too much time consuming for the first meal. If you have more time, you can make plenty boil them and freeze them for the next meal; you will have to place them (still frozen) in hot salted water and boil them for about 5-6 minutes until hot.

For this reason today I will prepare only what we need for 4 persons and I will have fun. I’m ready to start. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 500 g potatoes, starchy ones
• 1 medium egg
• 200 g flour, adjust to the need, depends on he humidity of the potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Boil the unpeeled potatoes in enough salted water until tender (time depends on the size).
2. Drain and peel the potatoes until still with a knife. You can use a towel to protect the hand holding the potatoes.
3. Mash the potatoes into a bowl using a potato ricer or with a “passe vite”.
4. Add egg, flour and salt.
5. Work with your hand until the dough comes together and you get a smooth dough, if necessary add more flour.
6. Now put the dough onto the floured working surface and work little bit more until elastic enough to be shaped.
7. Roll a portion of the dough onto the well-floured surface into a snake (or sausage) about 1 ½ cm think.
8. With a knife cut into 2 cm pieced.
9. Using a fork take a single gnocchi and press, roll it for form the typical pattern. Proceed piece by piece in the same way placing each gnocchi on a floured tea towel on a baking tray, spaced apart. This will prevent sticking and helps when it’s time to add them to the hot salted water.
10. Bring at least 3 liters of hot water to boil. Add salt as need and 3 tablespoon of a neutral vegetal oil.
11. Add the gnocchi carefully to the salted water. Stir once and wait for 1-2 minutes until they rise to the surface.
12. Drain and serve immediately. If you have to store them in a bowl add little butter, and toss gently; this will prevent sticking.