Gnocchi - do you bake or boil the potatoes?

evan

Well-known member
I did make gnocchi a few years ago and they came out absolutely horrible. It was like eating rubber!

Just a few weeks ago I was fortunate to have gnocchi with wild mushrooms at a restaurant, and it tasted so fabulous I need to give gnocchi another try!

I know there are two schools when it comes to prepare the potatoes, and I would love to know if one is easier to success with than the other.

 
Sorry the link wouldn't work I cut and pasted it

Potato Gnocchi Recipe courtesy Maria Sinskey
Show: Sara's Secrets
Episode: Chefs Cook at Home







Boiled gnocchi are fabulous tossed with butter and showered with fresh white truffle shavings. For a homey spin, toss boiled gnocchi with butter and a little cream to moisten, top with grated Parmesan and broil until golden and the cream bubbles.


3 pounds large baking potatoes
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
Unsalted butter, at room temperature, as needed


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash the potatoes, prick them with a fork and place them on a sheet pan. Bake them until very soft, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Resist roasting them at a higher temperature to speed up the process--you want the skin and flesh just inside the skin to become crusty.) Cool them slightly and scoop out the insides. Rice the scooped potato with a ricer, or mash them with a fork. Place them in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth to retain their heat. The potatoes must be used while they are still very warm.

Beat the eggs and yolk lightly together in a small bowl. Add them to the potatoes along with the flour, rosemary, salt, a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Mix gently with your hands until all the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough is smooth.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface. Lightly knead and add a little more flour if the dough is overly sticky. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, uncovered.

Roll the dough into thin 1/2-inch thick logs and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Using a generous amount of flour, press each piece against your thumb tip to make a dent or roll it over the back and off the tip of a floured fork tines to make the traditional ridged shape. Place the finished gnocchi on a lightly floured sheet pan. Cook them as soon as possible in boiling salted water. (For every 5 quarts of water add 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.)

Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. When they rise to the top, let them cook for a minute or two and then remove them with a slotted spoon. Drain well and toss with butter.

Note: If the gnocchi are not to be cooked right away, they should be frozen. The gnocchi can be made up to two weeks in advance and frozen on sheet pans. Once they are frozen solid they can be transferred to a sealable bag or wrapped tightly to avoid freezer burn. Do not thaw them before cooking or they will stick together. To cook them, throw the frozen gnocchi directly into the boiling salted water without thawing. Their cooking time will be slightly longer than unfrozen but their preparation should be completed in the same manner as with fresh gnocchi.

 
I just googled and answers are all over the place. Mine is simply ricotta

flour, eggs and salt. The dough is mixed up, kneaded by hand, rolled into long ropes, cut into 1" pieces, rolled off the back of a fork to get "sauce" ridges and boiled.

Tender. Tender. Tender. Light and not heavy at all. Much lighter than the potato ones I tried to make.

And now that I can make fresh ricotta in about 5 minutes, I don't even have to go to the store.

 
Could be. Gnudi is (are) generally a pasta filling served senza la pasta --

such as a cooked ravioli filling (basically ricotta gnocchi) served without the ravioli pasta casing.

Just to confuse things, it can also mean pasta "nude," or served without a sauce (though a little butter or oil is usual). You might have pasta gnudi as sick-day food. (Italians think white food is good for you when you're sick.) (Italians are also afraid of drafts, so you decide.)

 
I believe you will be successful

From the success of efforts to allow more close-knit, I have faith this is the truth. You will be successful!

 
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