Potato Gnocchi are one of my favorite week-end lunches. I say only “week-end” because since I tried handmade gnocchi years ago, I NEVER bought them at the grocery store again. They’re so much softer and aren’t chewy or sticky like the pre-made you find at the store, so I eat them only when I have enough time to make them from scratch: Week-end!
It’s true, it takes a little bit of patience to make them, especially if you’re cooking dinner for more than 1 person, but it’s truly worth it!
How to serve Gnocchi
One of the classic condiment for gnocchi (for ravioli as well) is butter and sage. I don’t know if you ever tried butter and sage before, I cannot describe how something so basic and easy can be so damn delicious.
Obviously, you need a good quality butter. I usually use non-salted butter as it gets the saltiness from the Parmigiano cheese anyway. Of course you should use the type you prefer, as long as it’s good quality and fresh!
So usually a good butter, fresh sage and Parmesan cheese are enough for a good plate of handmade gnocchi but my zucchini plant made such beautiful flowers that I had to use them! Unfortunately, here in the Netherlands is practically impossible to find zucchini flowers and since I have only a small plant, I only have 1-2 chances per year to cook them. I fried last batch (of course!) and this time I wanted to use them in a different dish.
How to make Gnocchi
Gnocchi are one of the easiest yet trickiest recipes. It’s only basically 2 ingredients: potatoes and flour. Yet it’s so easy to screw it up if you don’t follow a good recipe!
Tip about the potatoes: The best potatoes for gnocchi are the starchy variety (Russett is the most common) and it’s better to boil them whole so they absorb less water. Another cooking option is steaming or baking the potatoes (with the skin) but it’s more time consuming.
The main trick in making perfect gnocchi is getting the potato and flour ratio right. If you add too much flour, they’re going to be tough and chewy. If you add too little flour, they’re going to melt in the boiling water.
The perfect ratio is 70g of Flour for 200g of Potatoes for each person. Which is roughly 2.5 oz of Flour (about 1 cup) for 7 oz of Potatoes.
You may have noticed that many Gnocchi recipes also have eggs in them. I never add eggs in my gnocchi dough because this is how my grandma taught me. Egg is not necessary, it will not change the flavor, it’s merely a support to hold the dough together but if you use my measurements your gnocchi will turn just fine without any eggs.
The Recipe
If you like this recipe, try also these other Gnocchi recipes:
Classic Potato Gnocchi with Sage, Butter and Zucchini flowers
Ingredients
- 7 oz Potatoes
- 1 cup Flour
- Salt
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 8-10 leaves Sage
- 2-3 Zucchini flowers
- Black pepper
- Parmigiano cheese grated
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until they become really soft (about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size).
- Drain, peel and mash the potatoes evenly, then add the flour when they are still warm (overwise they'll become sticky). Mix well until you get a nice soft non-sticky dough.
- When you have an even dough similar in consistency to the bread dough, cut it in smaller parts and roll them with your palms to get a long roll thick about 2 cm of diameter (1 in.). Keep the surface and the dough smooth with flour to prevent stickiness.
- Now with a dough-cutter cut the gnocchi about 2-3 cm long. (You can then roll them on a fork to get the typical gnocchi lines). Let them rest separated.
- In a large pot bring to boil salted water and toss the gnocchi one by one so they won't stick. It will take 1-2 minutes to cook.
- Meanwhile melt the butter in a large pan with the sage leaves.
- As soon as the gnocchi float to the surface, it means they are ready to go! Take them out with a skimmer and toss them in the pan with the melted butter.
- Add the zucchini flowers, tos and serve with grated Parmigiano cheese.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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