Gnocchi is a Mediterranean type of pasta that comes from Italy.
This specialty is known all over the world and is often consumed by everyone. Gnocchi as a product dates back to ancient Roman times. If you are wondering why it is necessary for them to be small and ribbed, their appearance is not accidental, the ribbed surface allows the sauce to be retained in the depressions. The Italians thought of everything, even the very appearance of the pasta. Every pasta, including gnocchi, requires knowledge, experience, and skill during its preparation. In this content, I will give you a brief explanation of how to make them at home and cook them in the best way.
For this traditional gnocchi, you will need the following
Ingredients: simple, total time: 60 min, for 4 servings
1 kg red potatoes
300 g flour 00 total
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt
semolina flour for work top
lot of water + 1 Tbsp of sea coarse salt
Preparation:
This method is simple and will not take much of your time. Boil the potatoes together with the peel that you have washed thoroughly. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with plenty of cold water. From the moment the water boils, count about 30–40 minutes, depending on their size. Do the fork test and if the tines go into the center without difficulty, you can drain them. When the potatoes are ready, peel them and put a circle of flour on the work surface and make a hole in the middle. Grind the potatoes through the machine and put them on the flour while it is hot. Separately, beat the eggs with a little salt. Add the scrambled eggs to the mixture. Knead the dough with your hands until you get a soft but compact dough. Note that over kneading will make the gnocchi hard during cooking, so knead only as much as necessary.
You can speed this up by mixing all the ingredients together with a dough mixer if you have one. And gradually add flour to the mixture, without stopping whisking. It takes very little time for all these ingredients to be well combined and to obtain the desired mass with the appropriate texture and stickiness. Start kneading the dough with your hands and add the rest of the flour if necessary.
Remember, if you use too much flour, the dough will be dry and hard. From this amount of ingredients you will get 4 bigger balls. To prevent the gnocchi from sticking, sprinkle the work surface with semolina flour. Shape the strips into rollers so that the gnocchi have the appropriate shape. With the help of a knife, cut the gnocchi into 2 cm lengths, then make grooves with the gnocchi machine or with fork. Then the gnocchi are ready to cook. While you are preparing the potato gnocchi, arrange them on a baking sheet with a lightly floured cloth, spaced well apart. Let it rest in the air for about 20 – 40 minutes. Thanks to the rest, they will dry out slightly on the surface and will keep their striped shape even after cooking. If you intend to cook them, you can pour a few of them into boiling salted water; as soon as the gnocchi float to the surface, they are considered cooked and therefore ready for draining and seasoning.
If you made more mixture than you planned, you can freeze the gnocchi for 2–3 months. Before you pack them in bags and put them in the freezer, first line them up on a baking sheet and freeze them like that for twenty minutes. Only after this step can you put them in the bag so they don't stick to each other.
NOTE: If you want to make a gnocchi without eggs, then add only 50 g more flour and about 15 g of salt!
Other quantities are the same! Cooking must be done in a large and spacious pot with plenty of water and coarse salt. The gnocchi should be soaked after they are gently removed from the work surface. With a scraper, avoid taking them with your hands, otherwise you risk deforming the dough.
Do not turn them during cooking as they may lose their shape. The potato gnocchi is ready when it completely floats to the surface. The mistake you should avoid : is to put the gnocchi all at once into the boiling water, this can only harm the dough as all the dumplings will stick together! Do not leave the gnocchi in the air for more than 2 hours because it would be critical for the dough to spoil and darken, especially in the summer!
How to cook gnocchi?
Pour enough water into the pot (almost to the top) and slowly lower the gnocchi into the already boiling water. The gnocchi are ready when they float to the surface of the water. Take them out with a mesh strainer and serve with some sauce. The sauce can be like spaghetti or you can let your imagination run wild and come up with an inspiring combination yourself. You can also bake gnocchi in the oven with sour cream or some cheese that melts quickly.
Generally, cooking gnocchi/dumplings takes no more than 5 minutes. However, it is possible to cook the gnocchi directly in a pan with 60 ml of extra virgin olive oil and 300 ml of water. Remember to mix well and add another 50 ml of water for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
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