Serves 4
Prep time 1.5 hours
Floury potatoes, 800g
Italian ‘00’ flour, 200g
Egg, 1 medium
60g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh sage leaves, 2tbsp chopped
Butter, 4-6 tbsp.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Pierce the potatoes a few times with a knife, place in the oven and bake for 1 hour until tender. Scoop the cooked flesh out into a bowl and mash to a purée. Do not use a machine, as this makes the potato too sticky.
Mix the potato purée with the flour and egg. Knead it, until it is a homogenous mixture, being careful not to overwork it. Taking a little at a time, on a floured work surface form it into manageable sausage shapes, 2cm in diameter. Cut at 2cm intervals. Gently roll each piece away from you, using the tines of an upright fork to form the ridge indentations. Place the finished gnocchi on a clean pre-floured cloth.
Put the butter and sage in a saucepan big enough to hold the gnocchi and add a little water. Heat it through very gently.
Cook the gnocchi in plenty of boiling, salted water. After 30 seconds to 1 minute the gnocchi will swim up to the surface of the water. They are now cooked. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and transfer to the pan with the sage butter. Mix well, season to taste and serve immediately with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan.
