You say potayto, I say potahto...

Homemade Gnocchi

I love gnocchi but the thought of making it myself always intimidated me. I researched a lot of recipes, most of which impressed upon the reader that when adding flour, you just have to know when the dough feels right. As an inexperienced gnocchi-maker, how would I know how the dough was supposed to feel?? I threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a try. Since many of the recipes I found called for 1 egg for every 3 potatoes, I began by beating an egg with a pinch of salt & pepper and a scrape or two of fresh nutmeg against my handy microplane and added about one-third of the egg mixture to one potato (which had been boiled whole, then peeled, and riced). I also decided not to subject any unsuspecting, innocent bystanders to this experiment, hence the reason for using just the one potato. Bad call. After kneading in about 1/2 cup of flour, the dough seemed 'right'. The dough was then divided in half, each piece then rolled into long ropes, sliced into 1-inch pieces, and rolled down a gnocchi paddle. Wow - they really looked like gnocchi! Now for the real test - how would they taste? Not to worry - after dropping them in boiling water, and letting them cook for an additional 1 -2 minutes once they floated to the top, I then sauteed them in a little butter and chopped fresh rosemary until they were slightly golden. A sprinkling of grated parmesan (Parmigiana Reggiano, to be exact) and the taste test was on. They were delicious - light and airy. My first attempt left a lot to live up to. Hope I can do this again!