Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a tricky little dish with everyone having a different opinion as to how it should be made. Gnocchi should be light and fluffy, not dense and heavy. It should melt in your mouth and make you feel all warm and fuzzy, it should not make you feel as though you have indigestion! Through much trial and error, I have discovered the secret to the perfect gnocchi. Firstly, you must use the right potato. Toolangi delights are perfect if you can get a hold of them, if not, use desiree. Secondly, the potatoes should be baked, rather than steamed or boiled. Boiling or steaming the potatoes adds extra moisture, which results in dense, heavy, evil gnocchi. Finally, the potatoes should be passed through a potato ricer rather than being mashed, as mashing the potatoes also results in dense, heavy evil gnocchi. If you remember these rules (and don't cheat!), you will end up with beautiful, light, fluffy, heartbreakingly good gnocchi.

1 kg potatoes, such as Toolangi delights or desiree
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
200 - 300 grams flour
extra flour for dusting

Bake the potatoes in their skins until just tender, then cool and peel. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer onto a large board and then spread out. Cover the potatoes with 200g of flour and then tip on the egg. knead the potatoes, flour and egg into a firm dough. If the dough is too sticky and won't hold its shape add a little extra flour. Take a small amount of the dough and roll into a long thin log around 1.5 cm thick. Cut the log into small pieces around 2-3 cm long. Repeat with the remaining dough. You can shape the gnocchi with the traditional little ridges by using either a gnocchi board or a fork. Drop the gnocchi in batches into boiling salted water. They are ready when the float to the surface. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and toss with desired sauce.