Choosing the right potatoes is essential to have excellent gnocchi.
Difficulty: medium
Method: 140
Cooking: 20
Difficulty: medium
Method: 140
Cooking: 20
Put the potatoes in their skins in cold water and boil for about 30 minutes, or until soft. Anyhow, until they are nice and soft
Drain them
Peel them
Mash them while still hot using a potato masher
Collect the purée in a bowl
Leave to cool
Add the flour, egg, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg
Use a wooden spoon to blend the ingredients
Pour the mixture onto a lightly floured work top
Knead quickly until the mixture is smooth and not sticky
Divide the dough, knead each portion into rolls about 2 cm thick
Cut them into pieces of about 3 cm
Take all the gnocchi and give them that typical ridged shape created using the tines of a fork on each one
Place the gnocchi on a floured surface, well distanced from one another so they do not stick together
Cut the blue cheese (gorgonzola) into small pieces
Place in a small saucepan with the milk and cream, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
Cook over low heat until melted
Drop the gnocchi into boiling salted water
As soon as they come to the surface, they are cooked
Arrange the gnocchi on the serving plates
Complete with chopped walnuts
A soft white wine – like a Riesling or a Malvasia secca, or even a light red wine from Valtellina or a Sangiovese di Romagna – is ideal for sweet blue cheese (gorgonzola).
Instead, for spicy blue cheese (gorgonzola), pairing with a structured and aged red wine is recommended: in this case, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Amarone della Valpolicella are perfect.
When there is not enough time to prepare the gnocchi before eating them, you can follow the advice in the “What to do if” section, but still make blue cheese (gorgonzola) sauce at the last moment.
To avoid having gnocchi that are too chewy:
Let the potatoes cool down before adding the other ingredients.
Do not add too much flour, even if the dough might seem soft.
Knead the dough quickly.
If not using the gnocchi within a few hours of preparation, cook them in salted water, then cool them in water and ice. Drain and store them, greased with oil, in the fridge at 4°C for up to 3 days. Boil them again when ready to use.
If you wish to keep them longer, do not cook them, but put them immediately in the freezer after preparation. You can cook them starting from the frozen product when you decide to eat them. Boil them a little at a time.
If you have leftover seasoned gnocchi, you can sprinkle them with grated Parmesan cheese the next day and bake them in the oven at 190° until they are golden brown.
Choosing the right potatoes is essential to have excellent gnocchi. Buy potatoes that are not new, as they are poorer in water: this will allow you to use less flour in the dough. This way, the gnocchi will be less sticky and more enjoyable.
You can use any type of blue cheese (gorgonzola) you like; if you opt for sweet blue cheese (gorgonzola), bear in mind that it is softer and creamier than spicy blue cheese (gorgonzola), in addition to having a different taste.
For gnocchi
600 g floury potatoes
200-250 g 00 flour
1 egg
Nutmeg
40 g grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
For the blue cheese (gorgonzola) sauce
300 g sweet or spicy blue cheese
100 ml milk
100 ml fresh cream
60 g shelled walnuts
Salt and pepper
100 g grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
A soft white wine – like a Riesling or a Malvasia secca, or even a light red wine from Valtellina or a Sangiovese di Romagna – is ideal for sweet blue cheese (gorgonzola).
Instead, for spicy blue cheese (gorgonzola), pairing with a structured and aged red wine is recommended: in this case, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Amarone della Valpolicella are perfect.
