One of my favorite pastas is gnocchi. I’ve always loved the soft, pillowy texture of homemade gnocchi, so I decided to make a few batches for my birthday dinner.

If you’re new to making pasta, gnocchi is a great place to start. You don’t need a pasta maker - just a large stock pot!

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds of potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
2 cups of flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil on high
Peel potatoes. Add whole potatoes to boiling water
Cook potatoes for about 25 minutes or until fork tender (this could be longer than 25 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes)
Drain potatoes and mash immediately with a potato masher. Let mashed potatoes cool
Add 1.5 cups of the flour and the egg to the mashed potatoes. On a well-floured surface, knead the mixture until a dough forms, adding in the remaining .5 cup of flour until a smooth dough forms
Roll portions of the dough into ropes and cut into half-inch pieces (I used a bench scraper)

TO COOK GNOCCHI:

Bring pot of salted water to boil
Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 minutes - or until they float
Drain and serve with your favorite sauce

Gnocchi