Potato Gnocchi

I love making this with the help of my boys ... they love to help in the kitchen.

We all have a ball of our own to roll out and cut into pieces so our gnocchi is always very 'rustic' but it tastes delicious...

If you've never made pasta before, once you do it the first time, you realise just how simple it is... as long as you don't mind getting a little bit messy.

I usually make this with white spelt flour, but it can be made with plain white flour too...

4 potatoes (sebago are perfect)
salt & pepper
2C plain white flour
1/2C finely grated parmesan cheese
flour to dust

METHOD
Boil or steam potatoes with skin on
Drain really well of any excess water, remove skin and mash until smooth (I use a ricer)
Dust your table or bench with flour well
Place the mashed potato on the bench and form a well in the centre
Add a lightly beaten egg to the centre
Add half of the parmesan and half of the flour
Start mixing lightly with a fork
Add the rest of the parmesan & flour and continue to work together with the fork
Then knead with your hands until smooth, adding flour if you need to
(don't overwork it, as the more flour you add, the heavier the gnocchi will be)
Seperate into 4 or 5 balls and roll into long sausages about 2cm wide, on a dusted surface.
Cut into small pieces, about 1cm long.
Cook in a pot of boiling salted water until they reach the surface, drain and eat immediately.

If you aren't going to eat immediately you can drop the pieces into iced water to keep their shape and cool them down, and you can then place them on a flat tray in the fridge or freezer.

We eat our gnocchi with a simple pesto cream sauce, zucchini, chilli & tomato sauce or bolognese topped with freshly grated parmesan ... any simple sauce is yummy!