Long before I started this blog, I was obsessed with cooking shows. I watched them all the time, and was always eager to try the recipes and techniques I saw demonstrated. Of course, I had no kitchen skills at the time, so there were quite a few recipe flops and disasters. Homemade gnocchi was actually one of the first things I tried to make from scratch and to say it was an epic fail would be putting it nicely π It looked SO easy on tv, but in practice, not so much. That was over 4 years ago, and I thought it might be time to finally tackle gnocchi again. I don’t remember which recipe I used the first time, and there are a ton of them out there, but I turned to this one I flagged in an issue of Cook’s Illustrated at the end of last year. Their recipes rarely disappoint me so I figured this would give me the best chance of succeeding.
And what do you know, it worked! If you’ve never had gnocchi, they are little dumplings made from just a few ingredients – here it’s potatoes, flour, salt and an egg. The egg isn’t traditional, but I think it helps bind the dough together, making it easier to work with, and also tenderizes the gnocchi. These are light, delicate gnocchi with lots of potato flavor, and served with a brown butter sauce they are such a special treat. I think they’d be great with pesto too, or even a red sauce. You really can’t go wrong!
I’ve made this recipe twice without any issues, so I’m pretty confident it wasn’t a fluke π Today I’m excited to share it with you, along with more photos than I typically include in my post, just in case you want to try it. If you do, I highly recommend using a scale to weigh the potatoes and flour rather than going with the volume measurements. That one step goes a long way to ensuring success I think. Also, don’t get too frustrated if you struggle with the shaping. It takes some practice to get the hang of it, and at the end of the day, regardless of how your gnocchi look, they’re all going to taste the same π
Homemade Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage
from Cook’s Illustrated, September/October 2011
Gnocchi
2 lb russet potatoes (about 4 medium)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 oz) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon salt
Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 small shallot, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Start with 2 pounds of russet potatoes. Poke each of them 8 times with the tip of a paring knife. Microwave until the ends of the potatoes have slightly softened (flipping the potatoes halfway through) – it’ll take about 10 minutes total, though all microwaves are different, so yours might take slightly more or less time. Transfer the potatoes to the oven (place them directly on the rack) and bake until a skewer glides easily in and out of the flesh, about another 18-20 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and immediately start peeling them with a paring knife. They’ll be hot (obviously) so hold them with a potholder or kitchen towel. Transfer the peeled potatoes to a potato ricer (or food mill). If you don’t have a ricer or food mill, I’ve read that mashing by hand will work, but haven’t tried it myself to confirm.
Process the potatoes through the ricer (or food mill) onto a rimmed baking sheet. (I lined mine with parchment for easier cleanup.)
Spread the potatoes in an even layer on the baking sheet and allow them to cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer 16 oz of the warm potatoes to a bowl. You’ll have a bit of leftover potato – don’t be tempted to add it. Top the potatoes with the lightly beaten egg and use a fork to stir just until combined.
Add 4 oz of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt and gently mix into the potatoes just until no pockets of dry flour remain. The dough will not have come together, it’ll look crumbly.
Gather the dough into a rough ball in the bowl.
Transfer the ball to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 1 minute, or just until smooth. The dough should be slightly tacky, but if it’s sticking to the work surface as you knead, you can add a bit of additional flour.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and dust liberally with flour. Divide the dough into 8 pieces – don’t worry about making them all exactly the same size.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a long rope about 1/2-inch in thickness. Add flour to the work surface as necessary to prevent sticking. Cut the rope into 3/4-inch pieces.
You can leave the gnocchi as they are and cook them just like that, but if you want to shape them so they have the traditional ridges, keep reading π
To shape them, all you need is a fork. Hold it with the tines facing down, and with one piece of dough at a time, press down with your thumb and roll the dough down the tines of the fork and over your thumb. You want to be assertive, but gentle as you do it. One side of the gnocchi will have the ridges and the other will have a small indentation (both are good for catching sauce!). If you have forks that are different sizes as we do, I found the longer ones were easier to use. It’ll take a little bit of practice to figure out this shaping, but once you do it’s really easy – promise!
{If you want to see this in more detail, you can find several videos on YouTube that demonstrate the process.}
Transfer the shaped gnocchi to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. If you don’t want to cook the gnocchi immediately, you can place the baking sheet in the freezer (make sure the gnocchi aren’t touching) and once they’re frozen, transfer them to a resealable plastic bag for future use.
To serve immediately:
Start by making the sauce – add the butter to a 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat. Let it melt and then continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter has browned and has a nutty aroma. Remove the pan from the heat and add the shallot and sage (I didn’t have sage on hand so just subbed parsley). Stir and cook (with the residual heat in the pan) for about 1 minute. Mix in the lemon juice and salt and cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt to the boiling water. Cook the gnocchi in two separate batches – each will only take about 90 seconds. They will float to the top after about 1 minute and should be firm and cooked through when they’re done. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the skillet with the sauce. Repeat with the other half of the gnocchi. Gently toss them with the sauce and serve.
Serves 2 to 3
Homemade gnocchi is the best. I’ve been making it with my Nonna since before I can remember.
i LOVE gnocchi. I have only made them from scratch once and it has been years. I need to get my hands on a potato ricer soon so I can make them again. Oh and random question, someone told me that gnocchi traditionally is made from ricotta. Now I have seen ricotta gnocchi recipes out there, but I more commonly see potato. Is it just one of those things where one version is more common to different regions on Italy?
I absolutely love your tutorial posts Tracey. And now I can’t wait to give gnocchi making a try in my own kitchen.
I love this recipe! I tried homemade gnocchi once, and they were ok but I’m certain that I struggled more than I needed to. This looks like a much more reasonable recipe – I think the ratios were off in the one I used. Well, I’ll just have to try again. π
Wow, great process photos…and fabulous looking gnocchi!
this is awesome!! i love this tutorial! they finished product looks so chewy and delicious! i love it..i’ll definitely have to make some on my own soon π
I love gnocchi , with pesto sauce i love it more..
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while. Your recipe looks fabulous. i’m bookmarking this for sure!
Those look amazing! Love the tutorial and photos!
Perfect explanation!!exceptional execution !! Ciao from Italy
your gnocchi are picture perfect! they look like they belong on a cooking show π i’ve only made sweet potato gnocchi and it’s been forever, i need to set aside an afternoon for this sometime!
Love the tutorial and these are…PERFECT! WOW!
Thanks for your post. I didn’t even know what gnocchi was let along make it myself. I learned something new today π
These gnocchi look so good… I’ve had quite a few gnocchi failures in the past, so I’m looking forward to giving this recipe a try. Hopefully I can finally redeem myself!
How cool that you tackled gnocchi! I love gnocchi, but the prefab stuff is underwhelming, as you know. Another one on my to-try-someday list…
Gnocchi was one of the first things I attempted too, waaaay before I knew my way around a kitchen. Disaster is the nice way of putting it. π I need to give it another try because the store-bought gnocchi is seriously expensive.
Would you share the brand name of your ricer?
Gnocchi is my enemy! i’ve tried it like 12 times in the last 7 years – and all were massive fails. I even got a gnocchi rolling board – with the hopes that would help. it didn’t. I am almost ready to try again… bookmarking for when I have enough self-esteem to give it a go.
@Emm – I bought my ricer at Williams-Sonoma many years ago. It’s still on their site, but it’s saying it’s not available. I have seen it at the outlet near me recently if you happen to have one by you π
http://bit.ly/hJsjcM
I’ll have to try this version… I’ve always made my own homemade gnocchi by using left over mashed potatoes, 1 cup mashed potatoes, 1 egg, 1 cup flour. The potato ricer sounds like it would make them even smoother!
These gnocchi are adorable. Thanks for the step-by-step guide. I loved the Cook’s Illustrated article about these guys, but I wanted to see pictures of the whole process. Now I can!
I’ve never had gnicchi, but it really does look interesting, and I do like pasta. Your little gnicchis look so cute and plump π
Homemade gnocchi is the best! Yours look perfect!
I have only recently discovered how much I like gnocchi. I’ve never thought I would try it myself, but your tutorial is so comprehensive, I think I can!! Nicely done!
I love making gnocchi, but I usually make it with potato flakes in the interest of time. I may try making it from scratch again one of these weekends:)
I was going to go hunting for a gnocchi recipe soon. Williams-Sonoma had boards on clearance for $3, so I bit. I know what you mean, I too watched alot of Food Net back in the yesteryears. Giada, making her gnocchi rolling technique look so easy! Thanks for sharing!
I love homemade gnocchi! I’ve only made them once myself but keep telling myself I need to make a big batch to freeze. My Italian grandmother made them homemade all the time when we were young. She did always use an egg though (flour, potato and egg), so I do think that’s pretty traditional!
Your gnocchi look awesome! I feel compelled to feature you in my Friday Food Fetish roundup and on Pinterest. Let me know if you have any objections and keep the amazing food coming…
This is something I’ve always wanted to try making from scratch. I’ve also always wanted and excuse to buy a potato ricer, so I’m thinking I NEED to make this. Thanks for the great photos and explanation.
I love this! I’m going to have to try my hand at making gnocchi soon π
Your gnocchi look fabulous! This is something I’ve always been intimidated to make, but you make it look almost easy. Thanks for the great tutorial.
I used to watch tons of cooking shows before I was really into cooking too. I watched so many, I almost thought I could do what they were doing, without actually trying it myself. Ya, not so much. I had lots of early on failures.
This is a great tutorial. I like gnocchi, but Hubby loves it! Maybe if he’s nice I’ll make these for him. He would love it with a fresh pesto.
Those look really gorgeous and delicious! The last gnocci I had was homemade by someone else, and I really did appreciate the effort.
Thanks for the kitchen torch info – I’m glad to hear that an inexpensive one works. I wouldn’t use it a lot, and don’t want to spend a ton.
Beautifully done, Tracey! I haven’t made gnocchi since I started my blog…and I think it’s high time. Thanks for the delicious inspiration!
Wow, Tracey, those are little works of art!
I bought a food mill just so I can try to make gnocchi. I’m hoping to tackle it this weekend. Your gnocchi looks perfect and all the photographed steps are so helpful.
These gnocchi are delicious! I’ve never had it before, so I don’t really know how well mine turned out other than the fact that my husband and I devoured them haha. I didn’t have a food mill or potato ricer, so I grated the potatoes and it worked really well. Thanks for the great recipe!
Nice tutorial. I’ve never had gnocchi (but I used to make Hungarian haluska all the time), but these do sound easy to make. I’ll have to check out the videos you recommended to understand the shaping – my brain couldn’t wrap around your description. Thank you for taking time to share the technique and all the photos. It’s a great help in learning to make something new.