Gnocchi are little Italian dumplings, primarily made of potato, that are the ultimate comfort food! I first remember making gnocchi at a culinary course I took a few years ago at ICC and have been making it at home since. I fell in love with gnocchi’s plump, pillowy texture and mild, delicate flavor that pairs so well with many flavorful sauces. By itself, gnocchi is great, but when the little pillows are doused in this browned butter sage sauce and topped with nutty, freshly grated parmesan cheese, it’s game over! This recipe serves four but let’s be honest, I ate it all, and I’m sure you will too!
Homemade Gnocchi with Brown Butter & Sage
Ingredients
- 4 Idaho potatoes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for boiling water
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated + more for serving
- 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 fresh sage leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes, skin on, on a sheet pan with a bed of kosher salt in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for about one hour, until soft. Remove the potatoes from the oven. While hot, remove the skins from the potatoes and process the inside in a ricer or food mill onto the countertop. Allow to cool. (If you do not have either of the tools you can mash the potatoes with a fork.)
- To the potatoes, add the flour, salt, cheese, and eggs then work, with your hands, the ingredients into a ball of dough. Make sure not to overwork it. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cut off pieces of the dough and roll them into even cylinder shapes. Cut them into 1-inch pieces. Press the gnocchi lightly with the tines of a fork or roll them off a gnocchi board. This creates grooves in the dough which help “capture” some of the dough on the gnocchi. Place the pressed gnocchi onto a large cookie sheet, lightly sprinkled with flour, then repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Place the gnocchi into the boiling water. The gnocchi are done when they float to the top of the water pot, about 3 minutes. In a large frying pan, melt the butter on a medium flame. Remove the cooked gnocchi from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer it into the pan of melted butter along with the fresh sage leaves. Cook for a few minutes until the butter begins to brown and the gnocchi gets crispy on the edges. Serve immediately topped with grated parmesan, salt, and freshly ground pepper.
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