GNOCCHI

This is one recipe where you do need to cook the potatoes from
scratch rather than using up cold mash from the fridge. It’s easy
enough to do, but you need fresh ingredients and a light touch to
make a smooth, slightly sticky dough without overworking the
mixture, otherwise the finished gnocchi will be too heavy. (You
must use a floury variety of potato for the mash to be fine and
completely lump-free.)
It’s hard to be precise about the ratio of potatoes to flour but as
a rough guide, I’d say 3–4 tablespoons of flour to 1 lb (500 g) of
potatoes. Just be sure to add the flour a little at a time and you’ll
be able to tell when you’ve got the consistency you’re after.
Have gnocchi with Bolognese and other meat or tomato-based
sauces as a change from pasta, or with any kind of pesto, topped
with grated Cheddar or Parmesan cheese.
2 lb (1 kg) potatoes
6 tbsp flour
Salt
Method
1. Don’t peel the potatoes, give them a quick wash with a nailbrush
in cold water and bring to the boil in a saucepan of cold
water, simmering for about 20 minutes in the usual way until
the potatoes are just soft.
2. Drain the potatoes and as soon as they’re cool enough to
handle, peel the skin off and put them in a large bowl. If you
have a potato ricer press the potatoes through that, otherwise
use a regular potato masher.
3. Beat the flour into the potatoes a little at a time and stop once
the mixture is smooth and slightly sticky. Season with a little
salt.
4. Cut the dough into quarters and roll each piece out on a floured
surface into a long tube roughly the width of your finger. Cut
the tubes into 1 in (2.5 cm)-long pieces, press your thumb into
each piece and mark the other side with a fork to make a sort
of shell.
5. Drop the gnocchi in batches into a very large pan of boiling
water (don’t overcrowd the pan) and wait for them to rise to the
surface – this only takes a matter of seconds.
6. Once the gnocchi have risen, allow them to cook for another
10–15 seconds before removing from the pan with a slotted
spoon and putting them in a bowl. Serve immediately with
sauce or pesto while still warm.