Easy Ricotta Gnocchi (Authentic Italian Recipe)

I love food and I love cooking, so it made perfect sense to learn how to prepare my most favourite dish; Ricotta Gnocchi.

Anyone who knows me will confirm that I have a gnocchi addiction! Anywhere I go, if gnocchi is on the menu, then there's really no other choice for me. The end.
That being said, once I learned this quick and easy recipe, it made so much more sense to just make it myself, although it's now very easy (in fact, too easy) to have homemade gnocchi whenever I want....


HOMEMADE RICOTTA GNOCCHI
*The recipe below states all the ingredient measurements for ONE batch of gnocchi but the photos depict THREE batches... I'd suggest making single batches otherwise the dough takes too long to knead and may become chewy when cooked. But if you have some strong arms then go for it!

When I recreated this recipe at home, I was a bit heavy handed with the flour... I would recommend beginning with two thirds to three quarters of the flour and then slowly add the remaining flour, should you 'knead' it... see what I did there?

The dough should be smooth and not tacky.

 If you don't have a gnocchi mat (or board) you can just leave the cut gnocchi as is or make the indents using a fork.

Once you're done rolling the gnocchi, place them on trays of lightly floured baking paper.
If you will be eating them that day, cover them with a clean tea towel until you are ready to cook them.
If you will be eating them the next day or anytime within the next three months (that is how long you can freeze them for), place the trays in the freezer and flash freeze the gnocchi. Once frozen, transfer them into freezer bags and place in the freezer until ready to use.


HOW TO COOK THE GNOCCHI

• Bring water to the boil and add salt.
• When bubbling, add the frozen (not thawed) gnocchi into the water.
• Cook until gnocchi floats to the top of the water and from this point, monitor them carefully. 
• You want the majority of gnocchi to come to the surface and simmer for a bit until tender.
• I would suggest constant tasting of the gnocchi at this point, to make sure it's cooked through to your liking
• Strain gnocchi in a colander and transfer to a large bowl. Do not rinse. 
• Place a ladle (or two) of sauce into the bowl and mix to coat.
• Serve gnocchi with extra sauce and parmesan cheese.
• ENJOY!

This recipe is so easy and gratifying that I hope you try it out. I would love to hear how it all came together!

Nic x

**All photos were taken with iPhone 4 & pictorial was created using Picollage iPad app