Home made gnocchi

Once before I made potato gnocchi and I thought they were really good.  I also thought they were rather labour intensive, because I am a really lazy cook.  However the universe recently ensured that I had a glut of kale, and a glut of potatoes, and I decided I need to make a recipe I had been saving for some time, Spinach Gnocchi Bake.  And yes, I know that the dish isn't pretty.  But oh my did it taste like a little bit of heaven.  Days later and I still can't wait to make it again!

I used the gnocchi recipe from my Italian cookbook, which I will write out here, mainly because it is the only recipe I use from this book.  When I made them this time I didn't think they were that difficult at all, and I had enough from a 1/2 recipe to make dinner and freeze 1/2 for dinner later on.  Perhaps I've matured as a cook.  At any rate I was well chuffed!  However I was just doing a web search on making gnocchi and everyone is saying how hard it is.  I thought it was dead simple, and they were really good.  I think if don't go into a project thinking it will be hard, you will be better off. 

To make potato gnocchi my super easy and tasty way:

1kg/2lb potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
60g/2 oz/1/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
300g/10 oz/2 1/2 cup plain flour
salt

1) Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.
2) Press the hot potatoes through a sieve (strainer) into a large bowl.  I use the back of a large spoon to do this.  Add 1 tsp of salt, the butter, egg, and 150g/5oz/1 1/4 cup flour.  Mix well to bind together.
3) Turn onto a lightly floured surface and kneed, gradually adding the remining flour, until a smooth, soft, slightly sticky dough is formed.
4) Flour your hands and roll the dough into 2cm/3/4" thick rolls.  Cut into 1cm/1/2" pieces.  Press the top of each one with the floured prongs of a fork.

5) Bring a large pan of water to a simmer.  Add the gnocchi and cook in batches for 2-3 minutes until they rise to the surface.  Remove with a slotted spoon and put in a warmed, greased bowl.  At this point you can use them for a recipe, or simply pour a sauce over them it is up to you.

When I made these, I made 1/2 a recipe, which gave me about 1lb of gnocchi.  I used 1/2 of that to make the recipe above.  The rest I froze without cooking, so when I am ready I can just pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the boiling water.  Talk about fast!

A few notes about the recipe Spinach Gnocchi Bake. I didn't use spinach, I used kale.  I washed the kale, removed their very stiff ribs, and whizzed it in my food processor until it was quite finely diced.  I find kale very similar to eating a brillo pad, so I like to break it down first.  Then I sautéed it with the onions and it was wonderful.  Also, don't skip the Gruyere cheese, it makes the recipe.  I DID skip the mozzarella cheese, because that seemed WAY too cheesy for me.  I didn't miss it, I don't think you will either.