Gnocchi

Before you even read this take a deep breath.  You can do this.  Seriously, I was really nervous to make gnocchi, but it wasn't that hard.  I watched about 10 youtube videos first to make sure I had the method down, and it really wasn't necessary.  There is minimal kneading and no wait time to cook the pasta.

I mean, just think about how delicious this will be (couldn't even wait for the end for the photo):

The store brand: World Market Original Potato Gnocchi

My Recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg

3 medium potatoes (1.5 pounds)

pinch nutmeg

pinch salt

- Boil the potatoes (I halved them first) until soft.

- While they are still warm, peel the skin right off (easy to do with your hands) and grate through a cheese grater.  You can also you a ricer if you have one.

- Make a well in the middle of the potatoes.

- Sprinkle all over the potatoes with flour, salt, and nutmeg, and then add the egg in the well.

- Mix briefly with a fork and then knead for just a couple minutes until the dough is smooth and somewhat dry (continue to sprinkle flour as needed - I used ~1/3 cup more flour).

- Divide the dough up into 4 balls and roll each ball into 2 long "snakes" - maybe 3/4" around.

- Cut the snake into 1" pieces and roll across a fork to get the gnocchi marks.  Make sure to keep the dough on a floured surface the whole time.

- Drop into boiling water in batches (don't overcrowd!).

- Once gnocchi start to float, which shouldn't take more than ONE minute, remove and continue to drop batches until complete.  Melt a little butter or drizzle with EVOO while they are hot to prevent sticking.

- Top with your favorite sauce (I use vodka sauce) or butter and enjoy.

OMGoodness.  These are the best - they are fluffy and taste more like a dumpling than a pasta. 

And the comparison?  At first taste I thought the store-bought wasn't so bad... second taste I knew the homemade were MUCH better.  The store bought were much chewier and almost pasty compared to the light fluffy homemade gnocchi (Mine are on the right).

The process of making the gnocchi really only took about 15 minutes once the potatoes were cooked.  I'm sure you could even use leftover baked potatoes.  As far as nutrition goes, you save on the packaged preservatives, but the store dumplings were made with potato and flour, so not much different there.

And the cost?  Potatoes are cheap!  Making this recipe is very affordable and costs about half of the store bought.

Gnocchi	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
World Market Original	16 oz	$      2.79	$           0.16
Homemade	22 oz	$      1.82	$           0.08

So, Bake or Buy? BAKE!