Home Made Potato Gnocchi

This will be the second time I have been brave
enough to try and make Potato Gnocchi. The
first time was with my friend Christina.
This time my husband and I are going to
give it a try using the recommendations from
Cook's Illustrated.

Gnocchi:
2 lbs. russet potatoes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup flour plus 1 tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt

**1/4 cup ground hazelnuts (our addition)

Wash the potatoes. Poke them with a fork several times
and microwave them for about 7-10 minutes. Set your
oven to 450 degrees. Move the potatoes to the oven
and cook them for about 18 minutes. They are done
cooking when a fork slides into them easily.

Peel the potatoes while they are hot using a
potholder and pairing knife.

Then place the potatoes in a ricer and push
them out onto a baking dish to cool for
about 5 minutes.




Place 3 cups of the potatoes into a bowl.
Gently stir in 1 (lightly beaten) egg
until combined. Add the flour and tsp.
of salt to the mixture.**Add the ground
hazelnuts. Gently combine
these ingredients. Press mixture into
a ball and place it on a lightly floured
counter top. Knead the mixture until
it is smooth for about 1 minute. You can
add flour if the mixture becomes too sticky.

Place the ball on a cutting board and cut
the dough into 8 pieces.



Dust the counter
with flour and roll a piece of the dough
into 1/2 inch thick rope. Place the rope
back on the cutting board and cut it into
3/4 in. lengths. Roll the little pieces
down the tines of a fork to make the ridges.
Place the gnocchi on a baking sheet with
wax paper while you finish rolling the rest.



To cook the gnocchi you will boil a pot of water.
Add about a tablespoon of salt. Pour the gnocchi
in the water. the gnocchi will cook for about
1-2 minutes or until ir floats to the surface.

Add the gnocchi to your favorite sauce.


Browned Butter, Shallots and Sage Sauce

For our sauce I sauted shallots in a few
tablespoons of butter (3-4). I added some
chopped hazelnuts and sauted the mixture
for a few more minutes. Next, I poured in
about 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 tbs honey,a
pinch of nutmeg,1 tbs. of chopped sage,
salt and pepper to taste. Stir the ingredients
on medium high for about 3-4 minutes.
Toss the already cooked gnocchi in the sauce
and gently mix them around so they are coated
in the sauce.

Serve.

This is a great recipe because the gnocchi turn
out very light and yummy. I think our addition
of the hazelnuts was also very good and paired
nicely with the sauce we made.