The finished product– the little potato dumplings– are for tonight’s Marica Cooks Monday. We are having Potato Gnocchi Lidia from The Frugal Gourmet’s Whole Family Cookbook. The dish is named after a famous Italian chef, Lidia Bastianich. Once the gnocchi are made, it is ridiculously simple– butter, fresh sage leaves, and Parmesan– though I am going to have to put my jacket on and pick the sage before it starts raining.

I had never made gnocchi before. If you bake bread– even quick breads like biscuits– it’s not hard, just time consuming so Sunday afternoon was perfect timing. Mr. Big Food tells me he has a recipe or two for sweet potato gnocchi. As we are in the highly enviable situation of being sweet potato rich, I think I’ll make a batch soon and freeze them.

I cut the recipe in half and I’d say there are at least six good sized portions. That’s perfect for the two of us. The instructions for this particular recipe could have used a heavier editing hand, so I’m not going to give you the verbatim version– as I said, if you bake bread you’ll have no problem with gnocchi.

GNOCCHI DOUGH

6 large russet potatoes (I used 3 good sized baking potatoes for 1/2 recipe)
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
2 eggs
Dash freshly ground white pepper
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Boil potatoes in their skins about 40 minutes until easily pierced with a skewer. Carefully drain the potatoes in a colander so that they don’t break up. When they are cool enough to handle, peel and rice the potatoes.

[I asked Mr. Big Food which sized ricer grate he recommended and he said, “I’d mash them,” which I suppose you could. I do not know what the relative advantages of a ricer over a masher are. Perhaps someone— cough, cough, Kat!– could enlighten me.]

Spread the riced potatoes out on the countertop to cool completely (a marble surface works best for this).

[As I do not have a marble counter top, and as I do have a dog named Missy, I let them cool completely in a glass bowl.]

Bring 6 quarts of water with 2 Tbsp salt to a boil.

Gather the cold riced potatoes into a mound  on a well-floured surface [or in a bowl to start]. Form a well in the center. Beat the egg with 1 tsp salt and white pepper. Pour into the well and work the potatoes and eggs together with your hands, gradually kneading in 3 cups flour. Continue kneading, adding additional flour if needed, until the dough is no longer sticky.

Cut the dough into 6 equal parts. Continue to dust dough, surface and hands as long as the dough feels sticky. Roll each piece of dough into a rope 1/2-inch thick. Cut the rope into 1/2-inch pieces called gnocchi. Indent each with your thumb or the tines of a folk. You can also roll the gnocchi between your hand and a box grater to make a pattern.

Drop the gnocchi into boiling water a few at a time until you have the desired number of portions. Don’t try to cook too many at one time as you will lose the temperature of the boiling water. Stir gently and continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook 2-3 minutes or until they rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon or skimmer and transfer to a warm platter. Boil the remaining gnocchi in batches.

The gnocchi can be frozen for later use, provided they are dusted with enough flour so they won’t stick together.