Gnocchi with browned butter and sage

A bowl of pillowy, soft and downy gnocchi is the emblem of a delicious Italian homecooked meal. Learn how to make them!

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 46

Total Time: 1 46

Course: Pasta, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegetarian

Keyword: Eggs, Flour, Gnocchi, Parmesan, Potatoes

Difficulty: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 423kcal

1. Start by boiling unpeeled potatoes in salted water, until they are cooked. Let them cool down and peel them.
2. Pass the potato through a potato ricer (see notes). Collect the riced potato in a fountain shape on a floured surface.
3. Add the flour, egg, salt and Parmesan to the riced potato and make the dough. Do not overdo it and do not press it too hard (see notes).
4. With a pasta cutter, divide the dough ball into 8 parts.
5. Roll each part into a log, 1/2" to 3/4" in thickness. Cut each roll into 1/2" pieces.
6. Shape the gnocchi. press gently each dumpling on a fork or on a pasta board, to make the recognizable gnocchi imprint (see notes).
7. In a skillet, add 3 tablespoons of butter and few leaves of sage. Let it brown, being careful to not burn it (see notes).
8. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and add the gnocchi. If everything worked, the gnocchi will float to the surface in one minute. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and place them on the skillet where you browned the butter.
9. Plate them and enjoy this Italian homemade delicacy!

It is better that the potatoes reach a cooler temperature before you pass them through a ricer. If the potatoes are still hot, they will contain more moisture, which will require you to use more flour than is needed. So be patient, and wait for the potato to cool.
You have to be gentle and shape it into a ball quite fast, to avoid developing the gluten that lies in the flour which would make your gnocchi too chewy.
I find that a pasta board gives more indentations per piece, so it collects more sauce and multiplies the taste. But if you do not have a pasta board, a fork is just perfect. If you do not want to make the imprints, you could just cut the log and stop at step 5.
Brown butter and sage is a classic sauce, you can sprinkle some Parmesan on top.
You could toss your gnocchi with beef, pesto, homemade tomato sauce or vegan pesto.