Gnocchi.....Okey-Dokey!

 

Gnocchi very nicely nestled in bolognese.

My sister Sylvia made these okey-dokey gnocchi with her friend Teresa. I'm hoping that these little Italian dumplings are actually pronounced 'n0key', otherwise my rhyme really doesn't work.

Ingredients: 

• 2 large russet potatoes
• ¼ cup beaten egg ( 1 large or 2 small)
• scant cup all-purpose flour
• fine grain sea salt

Cut the potatoes in half and boil them in salted water until tender (about ½ hour). Remove the skins, then put the potatoes through a 'ricer' and leave the mound of riced potato on a wooden cutting board or other clean flat surface. When cool, drizzle the mound of potato with the beaten egg and sprinkle ¾ of a cup of flour across the top. Using clean hands, incorporate the egg and flour into the potatoes. Very gently knead the dough, adding flour as needed until the dough is moist but not sticky.

Cut the dough into 8 pieces, and roll each piece on lightly floured board to form a long rope about 1.5 cm. in diameter. Use a sharp knife to cut the rope of dough on the diagonal into ½ inch pieces.

To shape the gnocchi,  hold a fork in one hand and gently roll the pieces against the back of the tines of the fork. The gnocchi will curl away from you and the fork tines produce tiny ridges. Set the dumplings aside on a clean tea towel and dust with a bit more flour, until ready to cook. The gnocchi can sit and rest for several hours at this point.

 

Gnocchi at rest

When ready to eat, cook 20-25 gnocchi at a time in rapidly boiling, lightly-salted water. Wait 10 seconds after the dumplings rise to the top of the water, then scoop them out with a large slotted spoon to remove excess water and place them in a large flat serving bowl. Serve with your favourite pasta sauce.