Homemade Potato Gnocchi

Adapted from this recipe.

1 pound Russet Potatoes

3-4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup flour, plus more for dusting

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake potatoes approximately 45 minutes or until soft. Bake them directly on the oven rack, piercing them with a knife or fork prior to baking. Cut in half and scoop out flesh. Pass potatoes through a potato ricer or grate them. You should have about 2 cups. Make a mound of potatoes on the counter with a well in the middle. Add 3 of the egg yolks, the cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix in the potatoes and mix well with your hands.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of flour over the potato mixture and press it in well with your hands. Gently work it in to the dough. Gradually add more flour, folding and pressing the dough together just until it holds (try not to knead it). If the mixture is too dry, add another egg yolk or a little water. It should feel firm but yielding to the touch. Test the consistency by forming a rope half an inch in diameter. If it holds together well, it is ready. (I ended up adding a lot more flour than the recipe called for.)

Keeping your dough and your work surface lightly floured, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1/2 an inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2 inch long pieces. Lightly flour the gnocchi as you cut them. (This step is important if you want the gnocchi to dry and not stick together into a huge mess! Not that I know from personal experience... :) You can cook these as is or try to form them into a classic gnocchi shape by following the directions given at the above link.

My gnocchi didn't look so good:

But they tasted great!

Scatter gnocchi on a cookie sheet. Set cookie sheet in front of a fan on low for half an hour, turning after 15 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop in the gnocchi. Cook for about 90 seconds from the time they rise to the surface. This is obviously hard to time since they all pop up at different times, but they will take on a different texture-kind of bumpy and white-when they are done. If you are unsure, just taste one and see if it's done. Remove cooked gnocchi from water and serve as desired.

Note: I thought this was yummy, but unless you are a huge fan of gnocchi, probably only worth the work occasionally.