Our pasta loving hearts are beating so much faster with this recipe for Pan-fried Gnocchi in Butter. What we absolutely love about this gnocchi recipe is that it is really easy to make, even considering the fact that you are making the pasta from scratch. If you are wanting to dive into pasta making, this potato gnocchi is a great place to start!
The main base of this gnocchi is potatoes and a cup and a half of flour. Add an egg and a pinch of salt into the mix and you have got all of your required pasta ingredients! When bringing your pasta dough together, take care not to overwork it as this could result in a tough gnocchi. You can refrigerate or freeze the gnocchi, but don’t leave the dough in the refrigerator for more than +/- 3 hours before you have cooked it, as this could result in a sad and soggy gnocchi.
For some extra flavour and texture, add some fresh garlic and walnuts into your vegetable stir-fry to mix with the pasta. You can even add some basil pesto into the butter sauce for a more distinct tangy flavour!
The combination of a warm, freshly homemade pasta coated in a silky rich butter sauce, tossed with vegetables really is food for the soul (and heart)!
Pan-fried Gnocchi in Butter
Ingredients
Ingredients to make your own Gnocchi:
- 5 medium new potatoes, peeled
- 1 ½ cups flour, a little more for kneading and rolling.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
For the rest of the dish:
- 370 ml napoletana pasta sauce
- 230 g genderstem Broccoli
- 100 g fresh Peasparmesan cheese
- Butter
- Parsley for garnishing
Instructions
Method: to Make Gnocchi
- Add the peeled potatoes to a large pot. Fill the pot with enough cold water to cover them and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover the pot, and simmer the potatoes until they are completely tender and easily pierced with a skewer.
- Drain the potatoes, let them cool just enough that you can handle them. Cut them in half crosswise and into a large bowl. Mash the potatoes and let cool until almost at room temperature, at least 20 minutes.
- Lightly flour a work surface. In a small bowl, mix the flour with the salt. Add the egg to the potatoes and then add the flour mixture. Mix with your hands until the flour is moistened, and the dough starts to clump together, the dough will still be a bit crumbly at this point. Gather the dough together and press it against the bottom of the bowl until you have a formed ball. Transfer it to the floured surface and wash your hands.
- Knead gently until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough is soft, smooth, and a little sticky texture. Do not overmix it, or the gnocchi will be tough, the dough should feel very delicate. Move the dough to one side, making sure the surface underneath it is well floured. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel.
- Cover two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle lightly with flour.
- Remove any little bits of dough from your work surface and lightly re-flour the surface.
- With the palms of both hands, roll the dough piece on the floured surface into small portions of long "snakes" cut snakes into13mm pieces.
- With a sharp knife, cut the 'snake's crosswise to make roughly 9mm gnocchi. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer on the parchment-covered baking sheets, making sure they do not touch. Repeat until you run out of dough, flour the workspace, and continue. When all the gnocchi have been cut and spread out on the baking sheets, sprinkle them with a little more flour.
- You can use freshly made gnocchi right away or within a couple of hours, or you can freeze them for later use. Put the gnocchi in the freezer while they are still on the baking sheets and freeze until they are hard to the touch, for at least one hour. Do not refrigerate fresh gnocchi for more than two or three hours, as they tend to ooze water and become soggy.
Making delicious Gnocchi with vegetables:
- There’s not much that needs to be said really, just sir-fry the gnocchi in a frying pan with butter, the more the yummier.
- That’s all there is to it. Easy peasy.
- Just cook it in the pan, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi ends up nice and golden brown all over. It will be beautifully crispy the noise it makes when you stir it around the pan is pretty amazing.
- In a separate frying pan, add the tender stem broccoli and peas with a little butter, add the Napoletana pasta sauce, and saute until the stems of the broccoli are tender.