Gnocchi with Sage butter

Let me admit it: until I met my friend Elisa, my gnocchi making skills were simply disastrous. I had attempted making gnocchi with many recipes, none of which convinced me at all! They were either too soft, too floury or they dissolved while boiling and I would end up with potato water…So when my Italian friend Elisa told me she makes the best gnocchi, I had to ask her to teach me!

But, Elisa showed me her way to make gnocchis in proper Italian fashion – no measures or quantities were given to me. In Italy, cooking all about feeling. But watching Elisa assemble the dough, feeling the textures and understanding – I took notes and went on testing quantities according to what I had seen, weighing everything out meticulously to make sure everyone can recreate these wonderful gnocchi at home – without Elisa by our side!

And, I am proud to say, I nailed it! So, here re you have it: the foolproof recipe for the most amazing chewy gnocchis with the best texture ever! Thank you Elisa!

This is a recipe from my cookbook ‘Flavours of Home’. You can watch me make these gnocchi here.

This recipe was created as part of my “Staycation” show, inspiring people with recipes from my travels that they can recreate at home – to get us all to travel in our minds despite being stuck at home this summer…

Ingredients

500g floury potatoes
250g flour + extra
2 tsp salt
1 egg

80g butter
a small handful of sage leaves
pepper
parmesan, to serve

Method

Serves 2

Peel the potatoes and cut into ½ cm thick slices. Put the potato slices in a saucepan with cold, unsalted water and bring to the boil. Boil for approximately 7 minutes until soft. Drain and leave to steam for 5 minutes.

Put the flour on the work surface and make a well in the middle. Press the potatoes through a ricer, so that the into the well flour (alternatively, mash the potatoes with a potato masher and add to the flour). Sprinkle the salt over the potatoes, then make a well in the middle of the potatoes and crack the egg into it.

Break up the egg with your hands and knead everything into a dough. It will feel as if it’s too dry at the beginning, but keep on kneading and you’ll get a smooth dough.

Dust the work surface generously with flour. Cut off a piece of gnocchi dough and roll into a sausage with your hands, making sure the sausage is covered with flour.

Leave the sausages to rest for 5 mins before cutting into 2cm little gnocchi. Roll the gnocchi in more flour.

Put gnocchi into boiling salted water. Cook for 5 minutes once it comes back to the boil.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the sage leaves and fry for a few minutes until they start to become crispy.

Drain the gnocchi and add the boiled gnocchi to the pan with the sage butter.

Distribute between two plates, season with pepper and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan.

TIPS:
• If you want to make the gnocchi up to 4 hours before cooking them, put them on a well-floured teatowel and cover with a second teatowel. Keep in the fridge until ready to boil.
• If you have any leftover gnocchi, pan-fry them in some butter until golden – they’ll become slightly crispy on the outside and are even more delicious!