SIMPLY SOFIA: GNOCCHI

Et voilà episode 2 of the Simply Sofia recipe series. Homemade gnocchi is surprisingly very simple to make and is a great thing to do with left-over boiled potatoes. There is nothing much to it but make sure to mash your potatoes well and not be afraid to get your hands dirty to bring it all together thoroughly.

Serves 4. Ingredients: 380g cooked potatoes, 160g plain flour, 1 egg, olive oil, salt & pepper. Making the gnocchi: Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Peel the potatoes and add to the pot. Cook through for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size. Drain, cool and mash thoroughly. Combine mashed potatoes, flour, whole egg, a drizzle of olive oil and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper in a bowl. Knead dough until it forms a ball. Divide the dough into four parts and form snake-like rolls about 1.5cm in diameter. On a floured surface cut the rolls into just under 2cm pieces. Gently roll each of the pieces over a fork to get light indents. On a tray leave gnocchi to cool in the fridge.

Cooking the gnocchi: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Drop gnocchi in and cook for 3-5 minutes until gnocchi have risen to the top of the water. Drain and serve.

You can serve the gnocchi with any kind of pasta sauce - my favourite is a plain tomato and basil although on Sunday David casually whipped up a fresh tomato sauce, some caramelised chestnuts, fried basil leaves and Parmesan crisps to go with it. And it was pretty delicious, too.