Meatless Monday: Caprese Gnocchi

Not only did we homemake gnocchi ON A WEEKNIGHT, but it was indeed a ‘we’ who made them–My Tiny Sous Chef and I. The key takeaway here? Gnocchi is totally easy to make!! You can make it, too! And it doesn’t take long and it’s super fun and it’s delicious! Here you go.

serves 2-4
* 1lb potato (~1 large potato), steamed to fork-tender
* 1t salt
* 1t pepper
* 1 egg
* flour (~1-1 1/2C)
* olive oil
* 1pt grape tomatoes
* handful fresh basil leaves
* 8oz small freah mozzarella balls, like ciliegini or boccancini

Steam the potato. If you don’t have time to steam it on the stovetop, put your potato in a glass bowl or shallow dish with a little bit of water. Puncture the potato a few time with a fork, and microwave for 5-8 minutes until fork-tender. Peel the potato and then mash it in a bowl until there are no large chunks.

Add salt and pepper and mix to combine. In the bowl, move the potato into a ring, creating a small space in the middle. Break the egg into that space and use a fork to beat it lightly, then mix it together with the mashed potato until fully combined.

Move the potato mixture to a lightly floured working surface and form into a ball. Add flour, about 1/2 a cup at a time, to the ball, mixing and folding into the potato mixture to create the potato dough. When the dough is ready and no longer sticky, reform it into a ball.

Use a knife to cut the dough into fourths. Take a fourth of the potato dough and role it out by hand into a long tube until about a foot long. Then divide in half and roll back out to about a foot again. Cut the tube into small sections, about an inch long each. Repeat until all the dough has been cut down into gnocchi.

Heat a large pot of water over high heat. While that’s happening, use your thumb to press into each gnocchi or roll the individual pieces over a fork to leave an imprint. You can also leave them as-is.

Regardless, when they’re ready, place them into the boiling water. When they float to the surface, remove them from the pot. This will literally take just a minute or two at most.

Heat just a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan and move the cooked gnocchi to the pan when the oil is hot. Sauté a few mintes until they begin developing a golden brown crust. Add the tomatoes to the pan and continue sautéing, shaking the pan occasionally. When the tomatoes burst, lower the heat.

Cut the basil leaves into ribbons and add them to the pan. Carefully mix to combine and you’re ready to serve.

Add a few little balls of creamy delicious mozzarella to your plate before serving and garnish with a few extra leaves of fresh basil.

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