This beautiful potato pasta has been a Northern Italy classic, featuring a soft luscious dumpling and a thick, creamy sauce. Gnocchi is a different type of pasta, as it uses two carbohydrates to form the pasta. Potato + Egg + Flour = Gnocchi. Simple as that.
After trying with multiple sauces, from mushroom to white wine, to sage, I have found that nothing beats a simple rosemary butter sauce. In this sauce, the pasta can speak for itself, and the rosemary simply adds another level of flavor. Mushroom and white wine offer too complex of a flavor themselves, which takes away from the whole dish.
Recipe:
For the pasta:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup flour
1 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, unpeeled
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
For the sauce:
1 stick of rosemary
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
Place potatoes in a large saucepan with enough cold water to cover it by at least 1 inch. Bring the potatoes up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until they can be easily pierced by a fork or paring knife.
Drain and peel the potatoes and cut them into eighths. Using a fork, masher, or ricer, break the up the potatoes and set aside. Once cooled, add egg, and mix until homogenous.
Next, add flour and bring together into a ball. If necessary, add extra flour to prevent the dough from becoming too sticky. Knead for 2 minutes, until the dough if soft and delicate. Over-kneading will result in tough gnocchi.
Divide the dough into 4 and roll out using a rolling pin into a long snake-like tube, about 3/4 inches thick. Cut out gnocchi about 1 inch thick. Optionally press a fork into each gnocchi to create an imprinted design. Place on a baking sheet dusted with flour.
Once time to cook, bring a salted pot of water to a boil and drop in pasta. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Melt butter in another pan. Add drained pasta and rosemary. Cook for 4-5 minutes until rosemary is very fragrant, and sauce is thick and creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add pasta water accordingly.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!