Homemade Potato Gnocchi

I still remember the first time I had homemade potato gnocchi. I was 13 years old and having dinner at my Uncle Ken and Aunt Brenda’s house. My Aunt Brenda’s girlfriend, Sheila was over and she was teaching my aunt how to make gnocchi. At the time I had no interest in learning how to make these wonderfully rich dumplings, but once the meal was served and I experienced them first-hand, I knew some day I’d have to make them myself.

It was probably more than 20 years after this first taste that I actually had gnocchi again. Unfortunately, it was nothing like I’d remembered. I’m not sure why they were so different, perhaps because they were store-bought rather than homemade, but these potato dumplings were gummy and tasteless.

At the time I was far too busy raising my kids to spend a day in the kitchen working on homemade gnocchi, so it was another 14 years before I finally decided it was time to revisit homemade gnocchi and share the experience with my family. I could hardly wait to taste again the wonderfully rich dumplings and was ready to take the time and make them from scratch.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi

2 Cups Potato Pulp

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Salt

1 1/2 Cups Flour

Prepare potatoes: Peel, quarter, and boil 3-4 Idaho or russet potatoes until tender. Drain and then force through a mesh sieve with a spoon. If you have a potato ricer, this would be a lot faster and much easier, but in a pinch a sieve and spoon will work fine. Spread the potato pulp out and allow to cool slightly.

Measure potato pulp and for every 1 cup add 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 3/4 cup flour. Stir with a fork and handle as little as possible to form dough. The amount of flour will vary depending on how wet your potatoes are. The less flour and handling, the lighter and fluffier the gnocchi.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times, and form into a ball. If the ball is dry and crumbly, wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, otherwise if the dough is soft and uniform, begin working with the dough. Cut the ball into pieces about the size of your fist. Form each piece into a log, then roll into a rope or snake about 1/2″ diameter.

Cut each rope into 1/2 – 1″ pieces. Roll each piece of dough over the back of a fork, using your thumb to press the dough against the tines as you do. Place formed gnocchi on parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with flour so they won’t stick to each other.

At this point you can either cook your gnocchi or freeze.

To cook: Boil a large pot of water and add a good amount of salt. Add 20 or so gnocchi to the boiling water at a time and cook until they float to the top and puff slightly (about 3-4 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and serve.

To freeze: Place baking sheet with uncooked gnocchi in freezer until gnocchi are frozen through. Remove from parchment paper and place in plastic bags in the freezer. To cook them, follow above directions and add unthawed gnocchi to water. Boiling time will increase slightly to 5-6 minutes.

Cook’s Note:

When I made these, I made several batches and froze enough for three meals as well as served them as a side dish with dinner. Being that this is a rather time-consuming endeavor, taking the time to whip up a few extra to keep in the freezer will really save time when I have a hungry family demanding dinner and little time to make it.

These are the way potato gnocchi are supposed to taste. They were tender, flavorful, and a big hit with the entire family — definitely worth the wait, and for this I am — Simply Grateful.