Homemade Gnocchi

History of this Recipe

Gnocchi has always been a rare, special meal in my life, even though it's not actually that hard to make. Gnocchi was always a birthday meal, though I don't know who started this tradition. Once I was old enough and tall enough to help out with cooking, I got to spin the crank and shape the gnocchi, and it was always the best part of my birthday. I've written the recipe for the gnocchi here, but not any sort of sauce to put on your pasta. We've always made it with tomato sauce or gorgonzola sauce, but feel free to top it with whatever sauce you want.

While not truly related to making gnocchi, whenever I think about making gnocchi I think about this quote from my dad. It's not homemade pasta if it doesn't look like Australia. - Todd C. Viola.

An image of gnocchi laying on a sheet. An image of gnocchi laying on a sheet.

Equipment Substitutions

To make this recipe effectivly, I recommend having a gnocchi maker to make forming the gnocchi's shape easier. If you don't have a gnocchi maker than you can roll out your dough into long strings and cut it into pieces that are about an inch. Take your thumb and press it into one side of the piece of dough. Roll your thumb away from you over the piece of dough on top of a cut glass dish so that the dough rolls around your thumb. Repeat this step for all the pieces of dough.

Ingredients

Ingredients to Make Gnocchi
Item Quantity
Flour 2 cups
Ricotta 2 cups
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Baking Powder 1/2 teaspoon

Recipe

Total Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 6-8 Servings

  1. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well
  2. Pour the dough onto a clean surface and kneed until everything is combined and the dough is slightly stretchy
  3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge until it is time to cook
  4. Take the dough out of the fridge aand seperate it into balls about the size of your fist
  5. Take a ball and shape into long strips about as thick around as a penny.
  6. Take the strip of dough, coat it in flour, and feed it through your gnocchi machine. If you don't have a gnocchi machine, use the cut glass method listed above
  7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all the dough has been processed, transfering gnocchi to a seperate surface as you go
  8. Your finished gnocchi can either be frozen for later use or cooked immediately. To cook, simply bring a large pot of water to a boil and put the gnocchi in for 3-4 minutes until the gnocchi rises to the top
  9. Drain the pot and add what sauce you want to your gnocchi
  10. Enjoy!