Potato gnocchi

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.

2. 2

   Bake the potatoes for 40-60 minutes until soft and cooked through. Once cooked and still hot, cut in half and scoop out the soft inside with a spoon, then push the potato through a fine sieve. Weigh out 250g/9oz of this baked potato mash and place onto a clean surface.

3. 3

   While still hot, add the Parmesan along with plenty of salt and pepper and mix. Make a well in the centre of this mixture and crack the egg into the middle. Use your hand to combine everything well.

4. 4

   Once fully combined, add in half the flour to start forming a dough. When it starts to come together, add in the remaining flour. As soon as the dough is no longer sticky, stop kneading.

5. 5

   Take a quarter of the dough and put the rest under a clean tea towel or cling film so it doesn’t dry out. Gently roll the dough into a long even-shaped sausage on a lightly dusted work surface, then use a sharp knife to cut even-sized pillows of soft gnocchi, about 2.5cm/1in long. You can leave them like this or roll the gnocchi down the back of a fork to make ridges. Put the shaped gnocchi onto a floured board as you work.

6. 6

   Continue this process with the rest of the dough, keeping the dough and gnocchi pieces covered when not using to prevent them from drying or sticking.

7. 7

   When you’re ready to cook the gnocchi, fill a large deep saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, add the gnocchi and cook for around 1-2 minutes over a high heat - they are ready when they float to the top.

8. 8

   Drain the gnocchi and serve as you like. I like to serve them with a simple tomato and basil sauce, but you could eat with pesto, Parmesan and pepper or even a ragu. You can also fry them off after boiling for a crunchy texture.

1 serving ≈ 225 g

Nutrition values are estimates. - means data is unavailable.