Fresh Handmade Gnocchi
3 Lbs Russet Potatoes (roughly 4 Potatoes)
1 lemon cut in half
1 1/2 C All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 large Egg
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 C roughly chopped Fresh Sage leaves
3/4 C freshly grated Parmesan
1/8 Tsp dried Chili Flakes
Cracked Black Peppercorns for garnishing
Large Crystal Sea Salt for garnishing (optional)
Peel and quarter the potatoes and place in a pot large enough to cover with tap water completely. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer the potatoes until the potatoes are completely cooked, approximately 30 minutes. Gently remove the potatoes and place them on a tray to cool and dry out a bit, till they are cool enough to handle but still warm. You may cover the potatoes with a tea towel to keep warm.
Cut a lemon in half and prepare to grill it. Place the lemon flat side down on a grill pan or skillet on medium high heat. Don’t move or touch it, let it grill until the lemon is blackened and softened. This will take roughly 12 minutes. Once grilled, set aside and let cool. You will get to play with this later.
Take your egg and beat with a fork or whisk in a small bowl. Set aside.
Place flour and salt in a separate large bowl and mix till combined.
Once potatoes are still warm but cool enough to handle, use a ricer to squeeze them into a clean, dry medium sized bowl. If you don’t have a ricer, then use a potato masher but make sure you don’t mash them more than necessary as the gnocchi will turn out gummy; a ricer is preferred. Add beaten egg to the riced potatoes and combine with your hands till it is evenly combined. Again, work as little as possible to prevent a gummy gnocchi.
Add potato and egg mixture to the flour salt bowl, and once again combine by hand till you have a fairly smooth dough that is tinted evenly yellow from the egg being well combined. Cover this bowl with a plate to make sure it doesn’t air out while it rests. You can also use plastic wrap Rest for 10 minutes.
Prepare a large tray with a light dusting of flour and set aside.
Once dough has rested for 10 minutes cut into roughly 6 equal sized pieces.
Flour a clean work surface generously and roll out the 1/6th portioned pieces of dough, one at a time, to a long even dowel roughly the thickness of your thumb. Using a paring knife, cut the dowel into pieces that are roughly one knuckle in size. Press the tip of your finger into each piece leaving a dimple in each piece. Once done, transfer to the dusted tray in a single layer and keep separate so that they don’t pile up. Repeat until all of your dough is complete.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and season with salt. Gently grab gnocchi (they are delicate) and transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook till they float, roughly 1 minute max. Remove the cooked gnocchi from the pot with a slotted spoon and place the drained gnocchi onto a clean dry tray.
Now this step you will want to do in small batches to avoid crowding the pan, if you do so they will clump together and that’s not good. Bring a large nonstick pan to medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil to the pan. Once butter is sizzling add fresh chopped sage. The sage will sizzle immediately, add enough of the gnocchi to the pan ensuring that the pan is not crowded and it sits in a single layer, no clumping. Allow the gnocchi to brown, toss the pan gently to brown the other side. This should take all of 5 mins total.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a platter and grate fresh parmesan over the the whole platter. Sprinkle the red chili flakes over the whole platter and also freshly cracked black peppercorns. Finish with a drizzle of the charred grilled lemon and large crystal sea salt.
Try not to eat the whole recipe and share, if you can resist.
