Choose floury potatoes and let their steam escape after ricing. Keep the dough soft: use the dusting flour a little at a time, rather than kneading in a heavy coating. Test one gnocco before cooking the whole batch. If it breaks apart, work a little of the reserved dusting flour into the remaining dough and test again.
Potato gnocchi
Prep 35 min · Cook 45 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty Medium
Method
Scrub the potatoes and put them in a saucepan, still in their skins. Cover with cold water, bring to a gentle boil and cook for 35–40 minutes, until a skewer slides easily through the center. Drain well.
When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer onto a clean work surface. Spread the potato out briefly to let the visible steam escape.
Add 200 g flour, the egg and 3 g salt. Bring the mixture together with your hands, working only until it holds as a soft dough. Use the remaining 20 g flour sparingly on the work surface and your hands.
Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each into a rope about 2 cm thick and cut into pieces 2–3 cm long. Roll each piece lightly over the back of a fork to leave shallow grooves. Arrange in one layer on a lightly floured tray.
Bring 2.5 liters of water to a gentle boil and add the remaining 20 g salt. Melt the butter over low heat in a wide pan. Cook one gnocco first: it should hold together and feel tender when cut. Cook the rest in three batches, lifting them out with a slotted spoon as they rise to the surface.
Transfer the gnocchi to the butter as you drain them. Add a spoonful of cooking water and gently tilt the pan to coat them without breaking them. Divide between four warm plates and serve immediately.
