gnocchi

the secrets to good gnocchi, as i recently discovered, are floury potatoes, a potato ricer or mouli, and gentle hands.

1kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward are suitable - check out this website for further info on floury varieties)
1 egg (free range if possible)
250g '00' flour

cook the whole, unpeeled potatoes on a gentle boil in plenty of salted water. once cooked, remove from heat, drain and once cooled enough, peel and put through a ricer or mouli into a bowl. being mindful of keeping the mixture as light and airy as possible, gently mix in the egg and 1/3 of the flour. turn out onto a floured surface and gently knead in the remaining flour, again, being mindful of keeping the mixture as light as possible. you don't have to add all of the flour, just enough that the mixture holds and loses most of its stickiness. break off a small chunk at a time (a fist size piece) and roll with your fingers into little logs about 1cm in diameter. using a butter knife or pastry scraper cut the roll into 1-1.5cm lengths and place on a floured tray (semolina can also be used).

to cook the gnocchi, drop it into a pan of boiling water (you may wish to stir it gently at the beginning of cooking to prevent sticking). once the gnocchi rises to the surface, let it cook for another minute or two and then remove with a slotted spoon or by draining. it can then be added to whatever delicious sauce you've concocted - sage, butter & Parmesan; garlic, tomato & basil, chili, lemon & olive oil...