Gnocchi With Pesto, Summer Squash, And Carrots

I broke every single rule for making gnocchi and ended up with the best ones ever. Really, they should have been heavy and leaden using waxy new potatoes rather than russets, but they were wonderfully light. I'm glad I made a large enough batch to freeze half.

I'm going to give a recipe with the understanding that it isn't one to be followed in an exacting manner. You really can't. There are so many variables from the moisture in the air to the moisture in the potatoes that you really just need to go by feel. Honestly, even if they are a bit chewy from too much flour, they are still excellent in a potato dumpling sort of way. You'd have to try pretty hard to screw up gnocchi to the point of being inedible (I'm not saying it can't be done, but it would take an effort).

I must have looked at a dozen recipes this morning and not a single one was similar in the amounts and ingredients. Some people feel the addition of egg to gnocchi is some sort of heresy. If your potatoes are moist enough, you really can omit it though it will be more difficult to form the roll. Impossible? No, of course not, but I also don't have any strong feelings about how to prepare them. If you think adding nutmeg will do something-go for it. I'm just offering another example of what I did and relating that I had success with it. Mind you, we're not Italian (even remotely) so we may have the wrong idea of what these are supposed to be like. Ask me about borscht or a kulebiaka, and I'll hold forth at length.

You Will Need:

For The Gnocchi:

4 cups of fork-mashed waxy new potatoes (skins removed) measured after mashing.
(about) half an egg yolk
(about) 1 cup all purpose flour (I only used about 1/2 cup, but my potatoes were well-dried having been made a day ahead)
Salt to taste

Pesto or other sauce and sauteed vegetables of your hosing.


Mash the boiled and cooled potatoes with a fork until fluffy. Add about 1/4 of an egg yolk and mix in. Add a small bit of flour-maybe two tablespoons and the rest of the egg and salt. Continue adding flour a tablespoon at a time until you have a mixture that can be rolled out into a log. It should not be too wet or sticky so you may need more flour.

Divide dough in three. Roll out each section into a log about 3/4 inch around. Cut into 1 inch squares. Make indentations with the tines of a fork to help grab sauce. I sort of rolled each gnocchi along the inside of the fork until there was a nice curved set of grooves on one side. This really isn't something I'd obsess too much over if it gives you difficulty. You can also make a simple indentation and be done with it.

Set the gnocchi on a wax paper covered baking sheet as you work. If you decide to freeze any, set them on plates in the freezer for twenty minutes before transferring to freezer bags. This is helpful if you're making them early in the day (as I did).

To cook the gnocchi:

Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Toss in a few of the gnocchi at a time and let them rise to the top. Skim off and do the next batch. Serve immediately topped with sauce and vegetables or whatever you like.