My perfect gnocchi
I have made a few attempts to find the right combination of ingredients and their ratios for this heavenly light gnocchi. There are many schools of thought on how to make the perfect gnocchi.
There is even a question if to add an egg at all, which I believe we all got used to in the past.*
In Rome, after having chatted to the locals, the reply to my question is that the egg yolk binds the ingredients better, however you can always try making them both ways.
The combination of ingredients that works best for me I share in the recipe below.
The sauces for the gnocchi are so versatile, basically most of the pasta sauces will work well with gnocchi. I really enjoy the Taleggio cheese, radicchio and walnut sauce (an inspiration from one of my favourite Italian chefs of all times) and the recipe is also included.
Serves 4-6:
Put the washed potatoes (don’t peel them) into a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
Boil on a low to medium heat until soft, check with a small sharp knife if all potatoes are equally cooked.
Drain and leave to cool for a while until you can manage to peel them.
Now press the potatoes through a potato ricer or sieve, or mash them with a potato masher.
In a large bowl mix the egg yolk, mashed potato and flour until well combined. Roll the mixture on a clean surface covered with some flour and form the gnocchi to your preferred size and shape.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi until they come up to the surface.
In the meantime prepare the sauce:
Melt a large knob of butter and fry for a few minutes radicchio tardivo cut into 1 cm pieces.
Pour in a small glass of white wine and wait until it evaporates. Add about 200 ml of double cream and once the cream warms up add cubed 200 g of Taleggio cheese and stir the mixture until the cheese melts completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Once the gnocchi are cooked, take them out of the water, add to the pan with the Taleggio sauce and toss all together.
Serve immediately decorating with coarsely chopped walnuts.