Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What type of potatoes are best for making gnocchi? ›

The Best Potatoes for Gnocchi

Step one: Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets will do, but Yukon Golds have more of the nutty flavor of the yellow-fleshed boiling potatoes used by the Italian and Provençal cooks who have mastered gnocchi.

The secret to the lightest, most tender potato gnocchi is to bake the potatoes instead of boiling them. A baked potato is dryer than one that has been boiled, which means you avoid having to add more flour to the dough to account for excess moisture, a practice that leads to over-kneaded, tough gnocchi.

Tipo 00 Flour is a soft, fine milled flour from Italy. It's a must-have for light and tender gnocchi and homemade pasta. Small(er) Batch Recipe ensures a higher success rate with just enough practice.

Unlike potato gnocchi, Roman gnocchi (Gnocchi alla romana), are made with semolina instead of potatoes and flour, that's why they are also called Semolina gnocchi. Roman gnocchi are shaped differently than potato gnocchi.

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

Gnocchi should be soft, melt-in-your-mouth, fluffy pillows. They should not be tough and chewy. Is it better to boil or fry gnocchi? Both boiling and frying are good for gnocchi, but boiling is the most traditional method—and it's quick and easy.

Try not to knead it as kneading will develop the gluten and make your gnocchi chewy. Keep some flour in a cup for dusting the board and your hands as you work to stop the dough sticking. Cut your dough into 6 pieces and roll them each into fat ropes about as thick as your thumb.

Egg yolk added to your gnocchi dough helps improve texture, and keep it together while cooking. Gnocchi is traditionally made with eggs in Veneto and no eggs in Piedmont, the two Northern Italian regions famous for gnocchi. We vote for egg yolks at the rate of 1 per (500g) 1 lb of uncooked potatoes used.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the gnocchi, tilting the pan from side to side briefly to stop them sticking together, then simmer for about 1½–2 minutes until they start to float. Drain the gnocchi and leave them to steam-dry for 1–2 minutes. Meanwhile, start to make the sauce.

Chewy gnocchi are the result of too much flour and over kneading the dough. It's important to knead the dough just until it comes together into a smooth ball and no more. This is because you don't want to encourage too much gluten development which makes them tough, chewy and rubbery.

Why is my gnocchi not fluffy? ›

The gnocchi dough will still be a bit crumbly when you first mix the potatoes with the flour and eggs. You want the final dough to be soft, smooth, and a little sticky. For gnocchi with a fluffy texture, don't knead the dough past the point where the flour is fully incorporated into the potatoes.

Tomato, pesto (or pesto alfredo), and butter-based sauces are the best components in a delicious Italian gnocchi recipe. All three are commonly found on restaurant menus. Some restaurants may offer gnocchi as part of a soup, salad, or paired with a plate of vegetables as well.

Ingredients for homemade gnocchi

In the USA you could use Yukon Gold potatoes. Russet potatoes will also work. Flour - I have used plain flour (all purpose flour) but you could use 00 also.

Gnudi (Italian: [ˈɲuːdi]), also called malfatti, are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese and semolina instead of potato flour. The result is often a lighter, "pillowy" dish, unlike the often denser, chewier gnocchi.

Stay away from waxy potatoes that have a hard pulp. And avoid new potatoes due to their high amount of water content. The perfect gnocchi are made with starchy and aged potatoes and here's why. The higher the water content of your potato, the more flour you will have to add when making potato gnocchi.

The Yukon Gold potato, though yellow fleshed, is a cross between a yellow and a white potato and is usually labeled as such. A “yellow” or “gold” potato is not a Yukon Gold potato, but all three potatoes have similar starch contents and flavors and can be used interchangeably in recipes.

Carrots, beets, broccoli, winter squash, and more can easily become a bowl of perfect pillowy bites.