Homemade Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of my favourite pasta dishes...ever.  I mean, come on, potatoes AND pasta all in one?! They are just a little bit of heaven. However, I never actually eat them because I don't like to buy them and we rarely go out for Italian.  So I decided to make them and they aren't as hard as I thought!!

I was taking a gander at recipes and found Gastronical Sovereignty's recipe for gnocchi.  After reading her post, I really felt connected (especially her bit about being a grown-up...there are few things I can do, but gnocchi is now on the list!).  Check her out here. She has a great blog!

Back to the pasta at hand!! Her recipe calls for floury potatoes (russet), I used Yukon gold potatoes because I love the way they taste and that's what I had on hand.  It ended up being about 7 decent sized potatoes. I also cooked mine in the microwave because it is easier (and faster) than the oven.  You can also throw them in your crock pot if your at work all day!
 

Slice open your potatoes and scoop out the meat of the potato.  Be careful because the insides will be pretty warm (don't want to burn your little fingers!) Lightly fluff your potatoes and add in the egg yolk (remember, save those egg whites! Waste not-want not).  Then you mix in your flour and spice mixture in gradually.  Make sure you season with salt and pepper heavily.  You don't want to have bland gnocchi!

You're going to have to get a little messy here and use your hands (hence no pictures).  Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto the floured work surface and knead away!  Here is a great video on how to knead (It's for bread, but it gives you a good idea on how to properly knead!)

Once you've kneaded your dough, take a piece off and roll it out into a long strip. Then cut off pieces into smaller pieces. Put them on a baking sheet and let them hang out until you're ready to cook!

Boil your water to cook the little guys in.  Add salt to the water because it will give it that extra little flavour! Once the water it at a boil, add your pillow-ey pasta by the handful and wait until they start to float. Pull them out and let them wait for the rest of the pasta is done.

Once all of your guys are done, I put them in a frying pan and added a little bit of sauce and some of the pasta water and gave it a quick toss to coat the gnocchi evenly. Add your sauce (I did a tomato and hot sausage sauce last night) to the top and enjoy!