Making your own potato gnocchi dough from scratch is easy and so very simple that even most amateur cooks can execute it. Gnocchi is so simple that they can be made with baked potatoes or boiled potatoes However this Gnocchi recipe has a slightly different procedure by using ricotta cheese. The results were stunning.

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What is Potato Gnocchi?

Gnocchi is a type of pasta, they are dumpling-shaped and look like soft fluffy pillows. Gnocchi can be made from semolina flour, white flour or wheat flour, egg, ricotta cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, and cornmeal. Gnocchi is usually eaten as a substitute for pasta in the appetizer first course but can be served as the main course as well.

Equipment Needed for Gnocchi and Peas Recipe:

Chefs knife
Cutting board
12” Skillet
Wooden Spoon
½ Sheet pan
Colander

How to Make Gordon Ramsay Gnocchi with Peas Cream Sauce

The guide below demonstrates how to make fresh homemade gnocchi with garden peas. Now go gather your equipment and let’s start cooking.

1. Preparing Gnocchi Dough

Cut baked potatoes in half, spoon and scoop out the inside of the potatoes, This works with boiled potatoes as well (see also ‘Homemade Baked Beans and Potato Cakes‘). You can use a fork to mash the potatoes or you can use a kitchen gadget called a ricer. A ricer will get the potatoes extra light and fluffy as you will see.

Make sure the potatoes are hot they’ll go through the ricer, much easier. Squeeze gently, little strands of potato will extract from the end.

Now add a spoon of ricotta, season with salt-and-pepper. It’s really important to season the mixture really good otherwise the Gnocchi can be really bland. Add the sifted flour over the ricotta to prevent lumping.

One whisked egg, making a little well in the center blending eggs into mixture till you have a softball of dough, then add fresh thyme. It’s a great compliment herb with ricotta cheese, make sure to get all those little tiny flowers.

Next make sure you flour your hands generously, and knead the mixture into a dough, fold in and push down. Basically what you are trying to do is get the dough nice and smooth. Just as it starts to get wet and sticky add flour.

Don’t overwork the dough you want it soft and smooth, if you overwork the dough it will stop the Gnocchi from expanding when they hit the boiling water.

2. Rolling out the Gnocchi

Cut the dough ball in half lightly flour your hands and start rolling it the dough gently into a long cigar. The mixture will start getting a little tacky, do not add a lot of flour just enough to stop it from being tacky.

Now lightly flour your knife so when you slice the Gnocchi, the dough doesn’t stick to the knife. Start cutting the dough into bite-sized pieces. When done flour your finger by dipping it into the flour and pushing down gently on the Gnocchi like a fluffy pillow.

3. Cooking the Gnocchi

Add water to the pot, salt, bring up to boil, add a touch of olive oil and lightly flour your hands. Lift up the Gnocchi into your hands and drop them in the rolling boiled water, turning and moving the pot to stop Gnocchi from sticking on the bottom. Let them simmer when Gnocchi float to the top they are done cooking.

4. Sauteé Gnocchi

Get a saute pan hot, once Gnocchi are done take them out of the water, drain, and then straight into the pan with olive oil. The Gnocchi will start to take on I completely different texture, crisp on the outside.

Add fresh pepper continue frying start turning them when seeing browning on one side, brown both sides.

Add peas, add butter to bring to more depths of flavor, add a little of fresh thyme over the peas and then add fresh lemon zest over that to layer all the flavors, then add a touch of grated Parmesan cheese when serving.