GGZ Gnocchi
This takes a long time, but it's really worth it. Plus it makes you totally awesome.
- 2 lbs russet potatoes
- 1.5 C unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1t kosher salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Cover potatoes with 1-2" cold water in pot, crank on to medium-high. Once it starts simmering, drop to medium and mostly-cover, 30-35 minutes or until they are perfectly soft and start peeling themselves. Drain, let cool so you can handle them (I rinse in cold water), then jam them through a potato ricer into a large bowl. You don't actually need to peel them, as the skin will remain in the ricer because it can't pass through. Anyways, let sit 20 minutes or until handle-able cool.
Combine flour and salt, mix well. Add eggs to potatoes, add flour/salt, mix until well combined. Transfer to a well-floured work surface and knead 30sec-1min, or until even and slightly sticky. Don't over-knead or you will make them chewy and narsty.
Cover with a towel. One lemon-sized hunk at a time, roll on a well-floured work surface with both palms until you have a rope ~3/4" in thickness. Chop with sharp knive to little 3/4" pillows. Don't bother using a fork to give them ridges, you can't tell when you eat them anyways. Put the little pillows on a cookie sheet that has parchment paper and flour on it. Continue to chop ropes for like an HOUR, srsly, it takes forever. OK, maybe only 30 minutes if you're better at it than me, I was a noob.
You really shouldn't cram them in so they touch, they'll stick together and it's annoying. And you really shouldn't layer paper on top of each other. But I do anyways. It just makes it annoying to peel off later if you're in a hurry.
Dust them with flour again. If you're cooking them right away they need about 1 minute in boiling water. Or, stick your cookie sheet in the freezer for 1-2 hours (until hard) and then dump them in a bag and freeze them more. Then they need about 3 minutes in boiling water.
When you're getting them off the sheet just pick up the parchment and make a tube, pour them out.
