I'm not a potato person, I know, shocking- so I've always kind of kept my distance from gnocchi but it always looks so dang delicious I decided I should just give it a whirl... and I sure am glad I did! These little nuggets of deliciousness came out so soft and pillowly but a little crunchy from being fried, oh man, so good. Excuse me while I wipe my drool.
I've seen this dish prepared every which way and flavored with everything under the sun. But this time I'm thinking... just keep it simple: oil, butter, and garlic. Sounds good, right? Let's get it.
-2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
-1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
-1 egg
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1 tbs butter
-4 large garlic cloves
-2 tbs olive oil
1. Peel, chop, and cook the potatoes thoroughly- drain well.
2. Put the potatoes through a ricer or use a masher- just get it really fine and smooth. Place onto a large bowl and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the flour, egg, salt, and pepper to the potatoes, begin to combine the ingredients by gently kneading the "dough" until everything is incorporated.
4. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's all combined and not sticky.
5. Divide the dough into sections. Each section will now be rolled into a "snake" log about 1 inch thick.
6. Cut one inch sections of the snake giving you a bunch of little nuggets.
7. You can leave the nuggets just like this or if you have a gnocchi board, use that.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
9. While waiting for your water to boil, chop the garlic and in a large skillet with the olive and butter on medium heat, crisp up the garlic to your liking. Remove and set aside before they too burnt. Do not discard the oil and butter.
10. Once the water is boiling, gently plop your gnocchi into the water and cook until they float, about 3-5 minutes.
11. When the gnocchi are cooked, drain well and put them into the skillet with the butter and olive oil on medium high heat and crisp them up until they are golden and yummy.
12. Off the heat, add the garlic back to the gnocchi and you're done!
Hopefully you enjoy this all the different ways you can, next time I'm going to try with a red sauce, YUM. I feel like I'm getting some really good mac and cheese vibes from this as well... interesting idea indeed!
Meaghan
