Everything is better homemade, right?

Think about it. Your mom’s recipes taste just that much better when she makes them, rather than you trying to re-create. Dishes at a restaurant can taste divine, but they taste just that much better when you can make it at home. Christmas gifts, birthday cards, cake, cookies, pie, donuts.. all better homemade?

At least that’s what I’m telling myself so I don’t go nuts.

Making gnocchi can be a nightmare. Especially without a potato ricer. This is the second time I’ve attempted the complicated little pillows, and it wasn’t terrible so much as time consuming. I had some time to kill the weekend my BFF, her hubby and adorable baby came up so I decided to try my hand at gnocchi. Again.

Whole Wheat Gnocchi (inspired by madness and adapted from the Italian Vegetarian)

Need:
1 pound russet (baking) potatoes
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c all purpose flour
salt

Do:

• First, you basically make mashed potatoes. Cook the potatoes (roast, boil, whatever.. I boiled) until they’re mushy and then put them through a ricer. If you don’t have a ricer (like me), you can just mash them but you will end up with some chunks in the gnocchi.
• Let the potatoes cool to room temperature before you sprinkle the flour over them. Work the mixture into a dough. If the dough is sticky, add flour as needed, up to 1/4 cup more.
• Shape the dough by rolling out long “snakes” of dough, then cutting into little pieces. Shape the little pieces by pressing it up against a fork and flicking it off. I still have not mastered this skill so don’t fret if it seems impossible; it basically is.
• When all the gnocchi is shaped, drop about 20 gnocchi into a large pot of boiling, salted water. When the gnocchi float to the top, they’re done so scoop them out and set them aside. Repeat until all the gnocchi has been cooked.
• I like to finish off my gnocchi by pan-frying in a bit of butter or olive oil. Totally optional but it makes the exterior crispy while the inside remains pillow-like.

Once I got over the fact that my kitchen was now 302 degrees and I had just spent over an hour cooking potatoes, molding them into dough and then cooking them again, I mixed the gnocchi with goat cheese, basil and cherry tomatoes a la Eat, Live, Run.
Totally worth it. Totally homemade.