Potato Gnocchi

Potato gnocchi is one of my favorite traditional Italian recipes that I grew up making.  I remember staying with my Nonna in Italy as a little girl and a vendor would drive around the streets selling potatoes and yelling "potate per gnocchi!"  I remember all the neighbors outside peeling and cutting potatoes and my friends and I pretending we were doing the same.  Although the potato gnocchi will never taste the same as they do in Italy due to their rich soil that the potatoes grow from, they still taste amazing! I found the closest potatoes to the ones you will use in Italy are Butter Potatoes.  From watching my family make potato gnocchi many many times in Italy as well as neighbors in the town, I discovered that some people put an egg in their gnocchi dough and some do not. I've learned it is almost impossible to write down exact measurements of ingredients.  Although Potato gnocchi have very very few simple ingredients, it is all about knowing what the dough should feel like.  Once you learn what the dough is suppose to feel like, then you know its perfect! So again I will write down below approximate measurements, but in the end you want a dough that is not too sticky and not too dry! Potato gnocchi taste delicious with tomato sauce, fresh basil pesto, or in soup! 
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Approximate Ingredients:

*5 lb bag of Yukon Gold Butter Potatoes
* 5 lb Bag of Good Quality Flour such as King Arthur unbleached all purpose Flour or 
Tipo 00 Flour (you may need more or less)
* 1 tsp of Salt
* 2 Whole Eggs (optional)

Tools you will need:

Potato Ricer (not a masher!!)
Wooden Board(everyone always asks me where I bought my large board, so click here and it will take you to the site I bought it on)
Large Steamer Pot
Gnocchi paddle or fork

Procedure:

* Peel Potatoes and steam until a fork can easily slide through (about 40 minutes)
~*~ It is very important to steam or bake your potatoes.  You do not want to boil them in water, because then the potatoes will have water in them causing you to need to add more flour in the dough.  This will make for a dense gnocchi instead of a lighter gnocchi~*~

* Let the potatoes cool to room temperature or until you can handle them without burning your fingers
*Grab a large bowl and put each potato through the ricer

* Add 2 Eggs (optional) and salt (Mix with you hands)
* Add Flour about a cup at a time and mix with your hands until it is the perfect consistency...Not too Sticky, yet not too dry!

* Flour your large wooden Board

* cut a small slice of dough and roll it into a long rope to desired size.  I like mine smaller, but I know many like theirs large. 

* Cut them into about 1/2 inch size pieces

* press and roll them with your thumb using a gnocchi paddle or a fork for the traditional gnocchi marks.  These marks help the gnocchi hold the sauce better!
* Place them onto a lightly floured tea towel

~*~TIP~*~ (if you are not planning on eating them right away, lay them flat onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or a floured tea town and freeze.   Once they are frozen you can put them in a freezer bag and tightly seal them up.  Freeze and use until you want to eat them!)

* When you are ready to eat them, Boil a large pot of salted water.  Then carefully throw the gnocchi in.  Once they float to the top, let them cook an extra minute or 2.  They cook quickly!
* Take out with a large Skimmer Strainer spoon. 
* Toss with your favorite sauce and top with some freshly grated cheese!

~*~Enjoy~*

Matteo at 2 month old watching Mommy make gnocchi for Christmas 

My cousin Mario making us gnocchi for lunch in Italy 2013