Photo of Gnocchi by Mario
Just like with many other traditional Italian foods, the recipe for Gnocchi has been changing throughout the years, it also varies from region to region.
Just to give you an idea of how different the recipes can be, originally (in the Roman times, as far back as 8th century BC) they were made of semolina porridge-type dough mixed with eggs, whereas the use of potatoes was introduced in 16th century AD. Some of the modern day recipes still contain eggs, or for example herbs, but as I already mentioned – it varies from region to region.
Having said that all, what I’m going to do is a modern version of Gnocchi, but with a Polish twist again! My recipe only consist of mash potatoes and potato flour, rather than semolina flour, eggs and Parmesan, but the result is equally delicious! This is just a basic recipe, but we will be coming back to it to use it in more of our delicious recipes.
Gnocchi
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves 2
Recipe by Bill
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g cold mash potatoes (see notes)
- 65 g potato flour
- Sea salt (for cooking)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil a couple of litres of water seasoned with salt.
- In a bowl, combine both ingredients by hand until smooth in texture.
- Transfer the mix onto a working surface dusted with a little flour, divide it into two equal in size portions.
- Roll each portion into 2 cm thick ‘log’, then cut with a knife into 8 individual, equal in size Gnocchi.
- Drop the Gnocchi into the boiling water with a pinch of salt.
- Cook Gnocchi until they rise up to the surface of the water, this should only take a few minutes.
- Serve with the sauce of your choice.
NOTES
- For mash potato: peel the potatoes, cut into equal size chunks, put in a pan, cover with water, add a pinch of salt, bring to the boil and cook (it’s ready when a cocktail stick comes all the way through the potato chunks – that’s way it’s important to cut them into equal sizes). Strain, mash with potato masher or ricer and set aside to cool completely, then weigh the amount needed for the recipe.
- Gnocchi can be served on their own with any sauce or dressing (for example Our Pesto alla Genovese or Our Tomato Sauce) or as a accompaniment with your meal (meat or fish).
- If you want to make it more interesting, you can flavour the Gnocchi with herbs (such as sage) or your favourite spices, just add it into the bowl before mixing it all together.
