Potato Gnocchi al Pomodoro
Light pillows, not paperweights
Homemade potato gnocchi made with baked russets and a light hand of flour, served in a simple tomato and basil sauce.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves
- 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 lb russet potatoes
- 1 to 1¼ cups 00 or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, crushed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- Handful of basil
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- 01
Bake the potatoes. Bake at 400°F for about 1 hour until fully soft. Baking keeps them dry — boiling makes them waterlogged and heavy.
- 02
Rice them hot. Halve, scoop and pass the flesh through a ricer onto a board. Spread out and let the steam escape for 5 minutes.
- 03
Make the dough. Sprinkle over the salt, yolk and most of the flour. Fold gently until it just comes together — the less you work it, the lighter it eats.
- 04
Shape. Roll ropes about ¾ inch thick, cut into pieces and roll each down a fork or gnocchi board for ridges. Dust with flour.
- 05
Make the sauce. Warm the oil with the garlic until fragrant, add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and simmer 20 minutes. Pull the garlic, tear in the basil.
- 06
Cook and toss. Boil gnocchi in salted water; they're done 30 seconds after they float. Lift straight into the sauce and toss with a spoon of pasta water and parmesan.
Larry’s rule: Test one gnocco before you shape the whole batch. Fixing the dough is easy; fixing 200 rubber pellets is not.