Instant Mashed Potato Gnocchi

Instant Potato Gnocchi.jpg

No Stress Gnocchi.

Making gnocchi can be a little daunting. I don’t know how many cooking competition shows I’ve seen where everyone freaks out that a competitor is making gnocchi. However, making these little potato pillows is incredibly fast and easy when you make them using instant mashed potatoes. Plus, if you don’t care about what they look like, you can do it essentially mess free. There really is no competition. Everyone is a winner when you make gnocchi with instant mashed potatoes.

 
 
 

PREP TIME
15 to 35 minutes

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COOK TIME
10 minutes

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YIELD
2 servings

 
 
 
 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes

  • 1 cup hot water

  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp sea salt (See Note 1)

  • Olive oil, as needed to keep gnocchi from sticking together.

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Directions

  1. In a medium bowl or gallon-size zip-top bag (See Note 2 for the mess-free method) combine the 1 cup of instant mashed potato flakes and the 1 cup of hot water. Mix to combine and let cool (it needs to be cool enough to not cook the egg when you mix it in).

  2. Add the 1 teaspoon of sea salt (if needed) and fold in the beaten egg.

  3. Blend in the flour a bit at a time until a stiff dough forms.

  4. If you plan to shape the gnocchi before cooking, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times. Shape the gnocchi as directed in Note 3, below.

  5. If you’re going the quick-and-easy route, knead the dough a couple of times inside of the zip-top bag. squeeze everything down to one corner of the bag and cut the corner of the bag with a pair of scissors to create an approximately 1/4-inch hole. Keep those scissors handy, you’ll need them in the next step.

  6. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add shaped gnocchi to the pot in batches, making sure to have no more than a single layer in the pot at a time. If you are using a zip-top bag, squeeze the dough out of the hole in about 1/2-inch sections. Cut the dough with scissors and allow the gnocchi to drop directly into the boiling water. Again, don’t add too many to the pot at once.

  7. Knowing when the gnocchi are done is about as easy as it gets. They just float up to the top of the water. As each one floats, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and place each into a bowl with a little bit of olive oil. I like to toss them all in a small amount of oil just to keep them from sticking together.

  8. Continue cooking the gnocchi in batches until they are all done. Serve with your favorite sauce.

 
 

Notes

  1. Depending on the brand of instant mashed potatoes you use to make your gnocchi, there might already be a fair amount of salt in the mix. Also, sea salt is far less “salty” than table salt. I suggest tasting your mashed potatoes after adding the water, but before adding anything else. They should taste well seasoned. Only add more salt if it’s needed.

  2. To make completely mess-free gnocchi, mix everything in a zip-top bag. Instead of shaping the dough, as described below, you will use the zip-top bag like a pastry bag and squeeze the dough out into a log shape, then cut with scissors so that each gnocchi drops directly into the pot.

  3. If you want to get really fancy, you can shape your gnocchi so that it has little ridges that help hold onto your sauce. They make special tools for this, but I have found that the back of a fork works perfectly.

    • Start by rolling the gnocchi dough into little logs that are about 1/2-inch thick (around the width of your thumb). Cut into 1/2-inch sections.

    • You can stop here. Your gnocchi will very literally look like little pillows. However, if you have the time and energy, giving your gnocchi little ridges takes everything to another level.

Shaping Gnocchi
 

  • Use the back of a fork to make ridges. Place the fork tines down onto your prep surface. Grab a piece of cut gnocchi dough and place it at the top of the tines ramp. Press your thumb into the gnocchi and pull down the tines ramp. You should use enough pressure that the tines make an impression on the dough, but not so much that it all gets crammed into the fork tines. The ridged dough will start to curl up over your thumb and the gnocchi will make a little “c” shape. It honestly took me forever to figure out how to do this motion, but I found a really helpful YouTube video that put it together for me. He is using a different tool, but the motion is the same. Skip ahead to the three minute mark.

 
Main DishesErica Hanneasy, VegetarianComment