Potato Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce

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in Main Dishes

Prep

90 minutes

Ready In

1h 40 minutes

Level

Easy

Rating

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
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Ingredients

GNOCCHI
2 pounds russet potatoes or 4-6 large potatoes
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour (add more if potatoes were boiled and moist) plus more to dust
1 teaspoon salt plus more to boil gnocchi
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
VODKA SAUCE
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
½ pound pancetta, diced (optional)
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup vodka
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup heavy cream or to taste
1 ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
These are amazing – like little pockets of heaven, definitely worth making them homemade.

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 450°.
2.Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt.
3.Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
4.Wash potatoes and pierce all over with a fork. Bake the potatoes in the oven for 45-60 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Let rest until they are cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and cut each one into quarters.
5.Press the quartered potatoes through a potato ricer.
6.On a clean flat surface, mix together flour, salt and pepper and make a well in the middle. Add the potatoes and egg; mix together with your fingers to form a soft dough. It should not stick to your fingers. Do not overwork your dough. You want to keep it light and fluffy.
7.Roll dough into a log and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into thin strips and cut strips into 1-inch pieces. If you want your gnocchi to have ridges, then roll gnocchi over a floured fork.
8.Transfer gnocchi to a parchment-lined and flour-dusted baking sheet, keeping them in a single layer. Let gnocchi rest for about 20 minutes before cooking.
9.While the gnocchi is resting, heat olive oil in a large pan. Add onions and sauté until soft. Add garlic and cook for about one minute.
10.Add in tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Stir well. Add vodka to the pan and bring to a simmer to let the vodka cook down.
11.Stir in the heavy cream and Parmesan and add salt to taste.
12.Add gnocchi to salted boiling water and give them a couple of stirs. Keep an eye on them; they cook very quickly, about 1-2 minutes. Once the float to the surface. they are done. Remove them immediately and add to the vodka sauce.
13.Toss the gnocchi until each piece is covered in the vodka sauce.
14.Serve immediately.

Notes

  • These are amazing – like little pockets of heaven, and definitely worth the effort of making them homemade.
  • If using pancetta in your sauce, I like to crisp it up first and put it to the side and add it at the end so it’s still crispy.
  • You do not need to have a gnocchi roller to get ridges on your gnocchi. You can slide each piece on a fork and squeeze a little (but not too hard). Honestly, you can skip this step; these little guys are so good they don’t need to look fancy!
  • You can boil your potatoes instead of baking them. If you do boil them, though, you will need to add a little more flour to the mixture, as the potatoes will retain more water this way.
  • You can use any sauce you want, but vodka sauce and gnocchi go hand and hand! We love, love, love gnocchi in this brown butter sage sauce, too.
  • Older potatoes work best for gnocchi; they contain less water.
  • For best results, use russet or Yukon gold potatoes.
  • Do yourself a favor and make extra to freeze! Place the uncooked gnocchi on a cookie tray in the freezer, and let them sit for about 20 minutes. Then place them in an airtight freezer bag. You can save them in the freezer but just up to 1 month. When cooking them, no need to thaw them. Just throw them right into the salted boiling water.
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