Gnocchi: Pillows of Love

With quite a few russet potatoes on hand, I decided to make gnocchi tonight for dinner. Gnocchi is a Italian dumpling made from potatoes. Inspired by Michael Chiarello’s recipe for potato gnocchi, here is my recipe for the gnocchi I made.Here’s my recipe for 4 cheese gnocchi which I served with marinara sauce, fresh basil and sweet italian chicken sausage:

4 large russet potatoes, diced
water for boiling
1 cup four cheese blend – parmesan, asiago, provolone, romano
salt & pepper to taste
3 egg yolks
1 cup all purpose flour

In a large pot, add diced potatoes and cover with water.
Boil the potatoes in water over medium high heat until soft.
Drain potatoes and place in bowl.
Add egg yolks, cheese blend, salt & pepper.
With a masher or electric beaters, mash potatoes until smooth.
Add 1/2 cup of flour and fold in slowly.
Add remaining 1/2 cup of flour.
Check the texture of the dough and if it holds together, it’s ready to roll.
Roll balls of dough into “snakes” about 1/2 inch thick.
Cut dough in about 1/2 inch lengths.
Roll each piece over the tines of a fork for ridges.
In a boiling pot of water, drop potato gnocchi to cook.
Once the gnocchi floats, remove and place on a cooling rack over a baking sheet.
This allows any moisture to evaporate and cools the gnocchi quickly.
Once cooled, you can freeze it for future use, or add your choice of sauce and heat.