Gnocchi is one of those foods that chefs love, because non-culinarians think it's really fancy and hard to make, and in reality it's extremely easy and can be made in large batches and frozen in portions and cooked to order. Any home cook can make this no problem. Here it is.
Okay step one. Clean, peel and boil 2 large potatoes, of any kind. Russets, and all kinds of sweet potato work wonderfully. When cooked, process in a potato ricer. It looks like this:
And they give you a really fine potato puree that is great for mashed potatoes and essential for gnocchi. This one was $7
here. Now, once you have cooked the potatoes and pureed them, wait for them to cool and pull the puree into a mount on a wooden cutting board. Pour 1/4 cup of lightly beaten egg into the well and knead with your hands, but not too much. Add in 1 cup of flour a little at a time until the dough doesn't stick to your hands.
Salt your gnocchi dough a little too. Now pat the dough into a disk, and cut it into 8 wedges. Take one wedge, and roll it under your fingers like a snake until it is about the width of a finger. Now cut that snake into pieces 1/2 inch wide. You should have something that looks like what you know of gnocchi.
Now you can press the pieces against a fork for those little gnocchi ridges that everybody loves but be advised that it is not necessary. Dust all pieces with flour. Now you may do one of several things. You can freeze the pieces in a baggie, you can pan fry them just like they are with some butter, or you can boil them like regular pasta either in the potato water or in salted water.
Aaaaaaaaaand that's it.
Here is a delicious recipe for sweet potato gnocchi.
White Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Stew
Enjoy
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"I write for myself and I'll say anything I damn well please." - Billie Joe Armstrong
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