Gnocchi just happens to be the pasta that started my lifelong love affair with fresh homemade pasta. Gnocchi is a delicate, light, pillow like dumpling. I grew up watching my grandmother making gnocchi on the kitchen counter. I remember her shaping them one by one and then flicking them to the side.
This recipe has a huge shortcut to making gnocchi, but the results are amazing. A traditional gnocchi recipe has you boil potatoes, peel potatoes and rice them. While they are worth the work this recipe cuts the time in half and makes it more practical to have gnocchi as often as you would like.
I have substituted the boiled potatoes for instant, I know it sounds like a huge taboo… but I promise that I never take shortcuts when it comes to cooking but this one is worth it. This saves you about an hour worth of work and allows you to have more control over the moisture in the potatoes. The less flour you add to the potatoes the lighter they will be. Don’t over mix or work your dough, that will cause the gnocchi to become tough. The dough should feel soft, smooth and a little sticky.
Gnocchi
Ingredients
1c Instant potato flakes1c Boiling water
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1c 00 Flour or all-purpose flour
1t Sea salt
1/4t Fresh ground pepper
Directions
Mix instant potato flakes with boiling water. Set aside and let cool.
Place cooled potatoes onto a clean lightly floured work surface, marble works best. Drizzle egg over the top, salt, pepper and gradually begin adding the flour. Once flour is well incorporated began kneading until dough is soft, smooth and a little sticky, about 3 minutes.
Divide dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a long rope, about ¾ inch diameter. Cut rope crosswise every ¾ of an inch. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer and sprinkle them with flour.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi until it floats to the top, about 3 minutes. Enjoy with your favorite sauce!
Cibo E Famiglia 
Hi! I love preparing homemade gnocchi, they’re always far more delicious than the store-bought ones!
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