Recipe Instructions:
Ingredients
4 medium (2lbs/900g) potatoes* (see tips above varieties)
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup (5oz/142g) all-purpose flour
salt for baking and seasoning
Instructions
Potato Gnocchi Dough:
Wash and dry the potatoes and place them on a baking tray with parchment.
Prick each potato with a fork before coating with a little olive oil and generously sprinkle over the salt. (See tips above about why I bake rather than boil my potatoes)
Bake at 425°F (210°C) for roughly 60-70 minutes or until a fork inserted in the center comes out easily. Allow cooling for just 5 minutes.
While still hot, hold the potatoes in a dish towel and scoop out the fluffy center into your sieve. I do this in 2 batches.
Straight away and while still hot pass the potato through a metal sieve onto your countertop using the back of a spoon. Note: If the potatoes cool down too much it will be impossible to pass them through a sieve.
Next, over the cooled sieved potato, pour over the beaten egg and sprinkle over the flour. With a dough cutter or a butter knife bring the dough together.
Knead lightly on the work surface until the dough comes together and is smooth. Shape it roughly into a log. Note: If your dough seems sticky you can always add a little more flour.
Shaping the Gnocchi:
Dust your work surface with flour (or rice flour). Cut the dough into thick slices and roll them out into ropes roughly 3/4 inch in diameter (see video above). Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.
Hold a fork in one hand, and use your index finger to hold a cut edge of a piece of gnocchi against the curved back of the tines of the fork. Press into the center of the gnocchi with your index finger to make a deep indentation. While you are pressing the piece against the tines, flip it away over the tip of the fork, allowing the gnocchi to drop to the work surface (Watch the video above for a step by step).
If the gnocchi becomes sticky, dip fork and index finger into flour. The finished gnocchi will have ridges on one side and a depression on the other. At this point, gnocchi can be refrigerated on a lightly floured baking sheet for several hours or can be frozen.
