Gnocchi

I love soft fluffy gnocchi but have never attempt to make one from scratch because it's simply so convenient to buy from the store. However, after being 'inspired' by Season 6 Australian Master Chef's Italian week, I decided to give it a try at home. The kitchen is totally messy with flour dust everywhere and my gnocchi is definitely not the best looking or consistent in anyway; but the texture is much better than store bought ready made ones. Leftovers can be freeze up to 2 months. Frozen gnocchi should be cooked without being thawed.

Ingredients:-
600g large starchy potatoes
200g plain flour
½ tsp fine salt
½ egg, beaten

Methods:-
1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water for about 25 - 30 minutes until cooked. Drain the potatoes and leave them sitting in the pot to continue to steam in residue heat for another 15 minutes (to get rid of the moisture).

2. Peel off the skin and push the potatoes through a fine mesh sieve. 

3. Scatter 150g of the flour over a clean work surface along with ½ tsp fine salt, then make a well in the center and add the eggs & mashed potatoes. Mix together, adding more flour if necessary, but stopping as soon as it comes together into a soft dough.

4. Set the dough aside while you clean the work surface and dust it with a little more flour, then return and flatten it into a square about 1.5cm thick. Divide this into 1.5cm-wide strips, then roll these into sausage shapes.

5. Lay the sausages side by side, and cut them into 1cm-wide segments. Dust these with flour, and roll each over the tines of a fork. Put the finished gnocchi on a flour-dusted tray.

6. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, then add in the gnocchi. Gnocchi is done when they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon, and tip into whatever sauce you're using.