If you have ever wanted to experiment with homemade pasta, gnocchi is a great place to start!
Gnocchi is a dumpling but technically falls into the pasta category too. It comes from the Italian word for “Knuckles,” or some say it translates to “Lumps” (should be Delicious Lumps, if you ask me!). It’s made from a mixture of flour and potatoes. It’s a fairly easy food to make, and while it’s not super time consuming, you’ll feel like you accomplished something major when you’re eating this delicious dish!
My whole family loves this, including the 4 and 2-year old picky eaters. The buttery, chewy gnocchi topped with blackberry ricotta has a nutty, fruity, sweet and salty bite that everyone loves. My husband is not a ricotta fan, but he loved when blackberry preserves were mixed in – it becomes a borderline dessert when something sweet is added!
If you want to get even more exploratory, you can experiment with making your own ricotta. But for this recipe, I kept it simple and used store bought. Make a veggie along with this, and you’ve got yourself a nice weekend meal!
| Prep Time | 30 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 Hour |
| Servings |
Servings
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- 2 lbs Potatoes Yukon Gold or Russet
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour Plus more for flouring your surface
- Butter Unsalted
- Salt
- 8 oz Whole Fat Ricotta
- 4 oz Blackberry Preserves Preferable the "Just Fruit" variety
Ingredients
Gnocchi
Blackberry Ricotta
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- Wash, peel and cut your potatoes into large chunks, and place in a large sauce pan.
- Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes (time will vary depending on the size of your potato chunks).
- Once the potatoes are cooked, mash them until they are smooth, in a large bowl.
- Let the potatoes cool slightly, and then add the flour. Gently mix the flour and potatoes together until they form a smooth dough (don't be afraid to get messy here, and use your hands – be sure the potatoes are cool enough to handle, though!) Add a little salt, to taste, and mix into the dough.
- Bring a large pot of water to boiling while you form the gnocchi. You will be cooking the gnocchi in this, in batches.
- Take a handful of dough at a time, and shape into a roll about 1/2" in diameter, on a floured surface. Cut the roll into pieces, about 1" in length, and set aside on a floured surface. Repeat this for the rest of the dough.
- Grab a fork, and place each gnocchi on top of the fork, pressing and rolling slighting with your thumb to create a curved, textured dumpling.
- Once the water is boiling, add some of the gnocchi to the pot. You will cook the gnocchi in about 3 batches. Let them cook until they rise to the surface, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon, and drain in a colander. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.
- Heat a saute pan over medium high heat and add a few tablespoons of butter. You will also saute the gnocchi in about 3 batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. Once the pan and butter are heated, add some of the gnocchi to the pan, and cook until the surface browns. Remove the cooked gnocchi and keep warm on a platter until the rest of the gnocchi is cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve on a plate, topped with the blackberry ricotta (recipe below).
- Scoop the ricotta into a small mixing bowl. Fold in the blackberry preserves, just a enough to combine. Scoop a heaping spoonful of the blackberry ricotta on top of your cooked gnocchi.
If you're feeling even more adventurous about making something homemade, try making homemade ricotta rather than using store bought!
Blackberry ricotta – YUM! That’s good enough on it’s own! The whole recipe looks delish.