Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi
Light, tender gnocchi made with salt-baked potatoes, fresh ricotta and parmesan. The restaurant method, scaled for home.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Total
- 2 hrs
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
Photo coming soon
Baking the potatoes on rock salt instead of boiling them keeps them dry, so you need less flour, and less flour means lighter gnocchi. The ricotta makes them even softer.
Serve them with napoletana sugo, brown butter and sage, or pan-fry them until crisp alongside chicken cacciatore.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C. Bake the potatoes on a bed of rock salt for 60–75 minutes until completely tender.
- While still hot, halve the potatoes, scoop out the flesh and pass it through a ricer or mouli onto a floured bench. Let the steam escape for a few minutes.
- Make a well, add the ricotta, yolk, parmesan, salt and pepper, and scatter over most of the flour. Bring together gently with a dough scraper until just combined, adding more flour only if it’s sticky.
- Divide the dough, roll each piece into a 2 cm rope and cut into 2 cm pieces. Lay them on a floured tray.
- Cook in batches in well-salted simmering water until they float, then 30 seconds more.
- Lift out and sauce straight away, or plunge into iced water, drain, toss in oil and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Chef’s notes
- Work the dough as little as possible. Kneading develops gluten and makes gnocchi heavy.
- Cook one test gnocchi first. If it falls apart, add a little more flour.
Questions about this recipe
Why are my gnocchi gummy?
Usually too much flour, overworking, or wet boiled potatoes. Baking the potatoes and mixing gently while they’re warm fixes all three.
