Tomato Tomatoe

potato gnocchi with butter sauce

Growing up my grandmother would made potato gnocchi with red sauce a few times a month. They were always perfectly shaped and it was a dish that I looked forward to. She made it seem so effortless when she made them and she never had any exact measurements. Everything was made done to feel.

I tried making them years ago and failed miserably. They were gummy and turned out to be a mess. Many years later I decided to give them a try. After watching many videos on how to properly make them I felt confident enough to attempt to make them again. Needless to say, they turned out amazing!

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potato gnocchi with butter sauce

Ingredients – Gnocchi

• 5 white potatoes
• 1 cup – 2 cups AP flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt

Ingredients – Mushroom Sauce

• 1 pack of button or cremini mushroom, cleaned and sliced into wedges
• 1 pack of enoki mushroom, cleaned
• 1 stick of salted butter
• 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup of chives, chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil (used for sauteing the mushrooms)

Directions

1. Wash and dry the potatoes. Wrap each potato in foil. Bake in the oven at 425 for 45 minutes. Unwrap the potatoes and bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are still hot, remove the skin using a paring knife. Place the potatoes in a ricer or use a potato masher and mash them until they are very smooth and have no lumps.
3. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Add the potatoes. Add an egg, salt and 1 cup of flour. Work the dough together with your hands. If the dough is sticky add 1/4 cup of flour in at a time. Work the dough until it’s no longer sticky. Form into a ball.
4. Dust a clean work surface with flour and cut a 1 inch piece of dough. Roll the dough using the palm of your hands until it becomes long and thin (about 1/2 of an inch thick). Using a sharp knife cut the gnocchi into 1/2 inch pieces. Add them to a baking tray. Continue this process until the dough is finished. Add the baking sheets to the freezer and freeze the gnocchi overnight.
5. When you are ready to cook the gnocchi, remove them from the freezer.
6. Prepare the sauce by cutting the mushrooms into wedges. Slice the bottom of the enoki mushrooms, removing the base.
7. Heat a large fry pan to medium heat and add a few tbsp of olive oil. Once the pan is hot add the button mushrooms and don’t turn them for 5-8 minutes. You want the mushrooms to develop a golden colour. Once they are golden, flip them to the other side and cook until golden. Season with salt and pepper once the mushrooms have released all of the liquid. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add a drizzle of olive oil and add the enoki mushrooms. These should take 2-3 minutes to cook. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the pan.
8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. The water should be salty like the sea. Once at a boil, drop in the gnocchi using a large spoon. Once they start to float to the top, remove them and add back to the baking tray.
9. Heat the pan that the mushrooms were cooking in to low heat and add the butter. Once this has melted add the gnocchi. Add a 1/4 cup of pasta water and cook until the sauce emulsifies. This should take 5 minutes. Add in freshly cracked black pepper. Ensure that the gnocchi are coated in the butter sauce. Turn the heat off and sprinkle in 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
10. Add the gnocchi to a large serving bowl. Garnish with the mushrooms, parmesan, a drizzle of good quality olive oil and freshly chopped chives.