Gnocchi Dough

Ingredients

1 kilo of old dry potatoes (for gnocchi the potatoes must not be young as they will have too much moisture)
250-320 grams approx plain unbleached flour the quantity depends on the potatoes
50 grams Parmesan, grated
Note
If potatoes are wet more flour is needed. The size of the potato does not matter but the quality and age are important
Silvana does not like to put eggs in her gnocchi dough. She thinks it is the worst thing 'to have the smell of egg with potato'. However she does put eggs into gnocchi dough made with semolina rather than potato

Method

Boil potatoes in their jackets with salt in the water, then peel whilst still warm

Note If potatoes get cold, they won't amalgamate well with the flour. When they are cold, they absorb more flour and the gnocchi gets too heavy. If you are in a hurry and try to take a shortcut by peeling and quartering the potatoes before boiling, you will lose the flavour from the skin and you will find that the potatoes become watery as they absorb water when boiled without the skin

Mince the potato with a schiaccia patate ‚ a special form of potato masher or put through a moulis.

Put flour onto a wooden table or marble slab. Make a well in the centre and put the warm minced potato straight onto it

Add parmesan cheese and work into flour. Work it in but if there's too much flour, push the flour away.

You have to feel with your hand when it is the right texture. The potatoes and flour have to come together otherwise the dough will break away. The flour that you can't use and have pushed away can be sieved and used again.

When the dough is ready, make it into a sausage shape , then fold and re fold . Roll with your hands only, do not use a rolling pin. Try not to get too much heat and force from your hands onto the gnocchi. It has to be kept light, and round. Don't press down, like you do for other pasta. (the secret with gnocchi is keeping them light. Too much working and they become tough and leathery)

Gently flatten the dough, make a thinner sausage shape and roll in flour and then take the roll and cut off into cushion like pieces

Take each cushion, turn it and with your thumb press into side and flip over. Push with your thumb away from you , don't use other fingers. Push and roll on the table.

Some people do this with a fork, but just using your thumb is quicker. The indentation you make is to allow the sauce to get in

Cook gnocchi in rapidly boiling water with salt. As soon as they rise to the surface, they are cooked. Just a couple of minutes. If not using straight away, put into cold water and then can keep a couple of days in fridge. Or, better to freeze the raw dough. Lay out on tray and freeze till hard and then put into serve size small bags and keep in freezer. and then cook straight in boiling water when ready to use.

Be careful ‚ You can't leave gnocchi uncooked. They will dry out, and toughen. They must be cooked or frozen straight away. If they dry, they will break.

After they are blanched, they are ready to eat but it should be that day or the next (no longer), then just heat in the sauce. They don't need to be re-blanched in water.