Ingredients

Method

• 4 medium potatoes (the soft floury type)
• Cake flour, for dusting
• 1 free-range egg
• Salt, to taste
• 1 bunch spring onion (or 1 medium onion), finely chopped
• Butter, for frying
• Oil, for frying
• 1 tot grappa or vodka
• Cream, to taste (optional)
• 150 ml passata
• Parmesan or Grana Padano, grated, for serving
• Italian parsley, to garnish
• Gorgonzola, to taste

Method

Ingredients

Boil the potatoes with their skins on until soft. Allow to cool and drain as much water as possible. This is important as the more water in the potato, the more flour you have to use to get the correct texture.

Mash the potatoes, removing all lumps.

Make a little mound of mashed potato on the table and make a well in the middle. Break the egg into the well and start working it into the potato. Start adding the flour, a little at a time, adding just enough until the dough stops sticking to your fingers. Add a bit of salt.

Roll the dough into cylinders no more than 2 cm thickness, then cut into pieces at intervals of about 3 cm.

Roll the tines of a fork over each piece; this helps the sauce to stick to the gnocchi.

Place the gnocchi on a baking tray and dust lightly with flour.

Cook the gnocchi in batches in boiling salted water. They should rise to the surface within a minute or so.

Remove using a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish.

To make the sauce, fry the onion in the butter and oil until soft. Add the grappa or vodka, then add the Gorgonzola. Add the cream to dilute the intensity and make the sauce go further. Add the tomato passata and simmer.

Pour the sauce over the gnocchi. Sprinkle with the cheese before serving and garnish with parsley.

First featured in the June 2018 issue of Woolworths TASTE magazine.