Gnocci Regina

By eddiemire

Ingredients

• 3 lbs white Idaho potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 egg yokes
• 13 oz. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1) Scrub potatoes in cold water. Boil for between 1 - 1 1/2 hours, depending on size of potatoes. Remove from water; while hot, peel and slice, then run through a food mill to mash smooth, with no lumps.

2) Melt the butter in a deep skillet or saucepan over low heat. Add the mashed potatoes and stir vigorously to mix. This will create a very stiff mixture, almost like bread dough. Stir in egg yolks, one at a time. Do this quickly, before the yolks have a chance to cook from the heat. When are incorporated completely into the potatoes, remove from stove.

3) Scoop the potato "dough" on top of a clean, smooth surface dusted with flour. Add flour about a half cup at a time, and knead it into the potatoes, using hands and a plastic scraper. Sprinkle a little extra flour over the potato-dough and counter top if necessary to prevent sticking.

4) Cut of about 1/5 of the dough ball, and roll it out to a long, thin "snake" (about 1/2 in diameter). With a flour-dusted knife, cut off pieces of the "snake" about a half-inch long.

5) With your thumb, roll each piece of dough along the tines of a table fork. As you do this, press down a little so the dough curls in on itself a little. This will result in a nugget with a large indentation on one side and ridges across the other - the classic gnocchi shape. Put the gnocchi on a floured pan in one well-spaced layer.

6) Allow gnocchi to dry for about 2 hours on the pan, then put them into plastic bags and freeze. When ready to use, put the frozen gnocchi directly into boiling water - do not defrost first.

7) Cook gnocchi exactly as you would pasta; Boil for about 4 minutes (longer if frozen). Drain them and toss them into a skillet with tomato sauce, pesto sauce, etc.

Makes 300 gnocchi

Serving Size: Either 6 entrees, or 12 appetizers.