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Homemade Potato Gnocchi and Sausage Tomato Sauce

  • 1 pound potatoes (clean but not skinned / not new potatoes) (we didn’t plan ahead so we pealed and cut the potatoes to boil them and it worked fine)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium egg (room temperature)

INSTRUCTIONS 

GNOCCHI

  • In a large pot boil potatoes until tender, remove from the pot and let cool  remove the skin. Then pass through a potato ricer.
  • Mix together the flour and salt, place on a flat surface, make a well in the middle and add the potatoes and egg, mix together with your fingers to form a soft dough, it should not stick to your fingers. On a lightly floured surface, cut small amounts of dough to form ropes and cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) pieces, then slide each piece on a fork and squeeze a little (but not too hard). Sprinkle with a little bit of flour and toss, so they don’t stick together. Let the gnocchi rest for 20 minutes before cooking.

COOKING GNOCCHI

  • In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the gnocchi, gnocchi are ready when they float to the top.  Drain and add to the cooked sauce, add a little pasta water, cook for 30 seconds, gently tossing. Serve immediately topped with fresh grated parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

NOTES

For room temperature remove from the fridge about 60 minutes before using.

The perfect potato is an old potato, in other words no new potatoes. New potatoes contain more water which absorbs too much flour. Go for Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes.

As far as flour goes, I always use all purpose, in Italy it’s called Manitoba but some people prefer 00 or a lower protein flour. A lower protein flour will make them softer and more tender, although you may need a little less flour to make the dough.

Potato gnocchi can be left uncooked for no more than a couple of hours (covered). Cooking may be a little longer because they will have dried out a bit in the air.

Any leftover cooked gnocchi should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. They will last up to three days in the fridge.

The Gnocchi can also be frozen, place the uncooked gnocchi on a cookie tray in the freezer, leave for approximately 20 minutes then place them in an airtight freezer bag. They will keep for about 1 month. No need to thaw, just cook from frozen.

One Pan Creamy Gnocchi with Sausage

NGREDIENTS 

  • 16 ounces Italian sausage
  • 1/2 small onion chopped finely
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices (we used crushed tomatoes)
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream (we used milk and it worked great)
  • 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Handful fresh basil torn (we used dried basil and dried parsley about 1 TBS each)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Sauté the sausage and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the sausage and onions are lightly browned.
  • Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for about 30 seconds.
  • Add the wine and let it cook for about a minute.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes, cream, and gnocchi. Once the sauce starts to bubble again, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Uncover the pan, give it a good stir, and let it cook for another few minutes, or until the gnocchi has cooked through and is nice and soft and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
  • Stir in the parmesan cheese, basil, and salt & pepper, to taste. Serve immediately. 

We didn’t cook the gnocchi in the sauce.

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Twice Baked Potato Casserole

  • 1 pound thin bacon
  • 16 russet potatoes
  • 6 tablespoons canola oil
  • 4 sticks (1 pound) salted butter, plus more for buttering baking dish
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 2 cups grated Cheddar or Jack (or a mix of both), plus more for topping
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 4 teaspoons seasoned salt
  • 6 green onions, sliced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook the bacon in a saute pan until crispy; let cool and then crumble.
Scrub the potatoes, then place them on baking sheets. Rub the potatoes with the canola oil and bake until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the potatoes and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Slice the butter into pats and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the bacon and sour cream. With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise and scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl. Tear up 3 of the skins and throw them in.
Smash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add the cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and some salt and pepper and mix together well.
Butter a baking dish, and then spoon the mixture into the dish, top with more grated cheese and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes

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Baked Potato Soup

  • 3 russet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
  • 2 cups very small broccoli florets, if desired
  • 1 cup water for steaming
  • 3 TBS unsalted butter (I only buy salted so just decrease the amount of salt you add to the soup)
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 TBS flour
  • 1 tsp. mustard powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (I never have vegetable stock so would use chicken stock)
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt, plush more to taste (less if using salted butter)
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup sour cream, for garnish
  • 3 TBS minced fresh chives, for garnish
  • 2/3 cup shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese, for garnish
  1. Prepare potatoes. Peel the potatoes. Chop one into 1/2-inch cubes and the other 2 into 1- to 2- inch chunks. Set aside larger chunks.
  2. Pressure cook the potatoes and broccoli. Put the small (1/2-inch) potato cubes and the broccoli into a steamer basket. Pour the water into the Instant Pot and place the steamer basket inside. Lock lid into place. Select Manual; adjust the pressure to high and the time to 0 minutes. After the pot beeps, quick release the pressure. Unlock and remove the lid. Use tongs or a potholder to remove the steamer basket. Set aside.
  3. Prepare the soup. Pour the water out of the pot. Preheat the Instant Pot by selecting Saute and adjust to Normal for medium heat. Put the butter in the pot to melt. When it has stopped foaming, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion pieces have separated and begun to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour and mustard powder and stir to coat onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the flour has darkened slightly, about 2 minutes. Add milk and stir. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook until milk is smooth and thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, cream, large potato chunks, and salt. Stir to combine.
  4. Pressure cook the soup. Lock the lid in place. Select Manual; adjust pressure to High and the time to 8 minutes. After cooking, naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Unlock and remove lid.
  5. Finish the soup. Use a potato masher to break up the potatoes and thicken the soup. Add cooked potatoes and broccoli and let them simmer until warmed through. (Test a piece of potato first; if it’s not quite done, add the potatoes to simmer for a couple minutes before adding the broccoli.) Season with the black pepper and additional salt if necessary. Ladle into bowls, garnish with the sour cream, chives, and cheese, and serve.

COOKING TIP: Steaming some of the potatoes separately (as you’ll do in step 2) yields discrete pieces of potato, while the rest melt into the soup to thicken it. If you prefer, you can cook all the potatoes in the soup at once.

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Baked Potato Fans

  • 4 Small baking potatoes
  • 1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided (or your favorite Italian dressing)
  • 2 TBS Shredded Parmesan Cheese or Shredded Cheddar Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 375. Scrub potatoes thoroughly with brush; pat dry. Make 7-9 diagonal slices across tops of potatoes about 3/4 of the way through, being careful to not cut all of the way through to the bottoms of potatoes. (See picture)

PLACE potatoes on lightly greased baking sheet. While slightly spreading potatoes apart to open up the slices, drizzle each potato with 1 TBS of the dressing. Bake 1 hour or until potatoes are cooked through.

PLACE hot potatoes on serving dish and sprinkle each with 1/2 TBS of the cheese.

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Potato Soup – Grandma Dennis

  • Potatoes peeled and cubed into bite size pieces
  • Water
  • Salt
  • Evaporated Milk

Place cut and peeled potatoes into pan with water and salt added. Boil till tender. When done add a can of evaporated milk to the water left in the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat and serve.

This recipe can be used for like 3-6 or 8 potatoes. The less potatoes the more rich it is because there is more milk.

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Potato Rolls Great Grandma Morgenegg (Lillie Ruth Vowles Morgenegg)

  • 1 Cup potato water
  • 1 Cup mashed potatoes
  • 1 Cup milk
  • 2/3 Cup shortening
  • 1 Tablespoon yeast
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 Cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 Cups sifted flour

Boil 1 medium potato in water with 1/2 teaspoon salt, when tender, drain, SAVE WATER.

Mash potato. Measure 1 cup potato water in pan add potato water, mashed potatoes, shortening. Warm till shortening melts. Add milk.

Pour warm liquids over salt and sugar in mixing bowl. When lukewarm add yeast, mix well. Add beaten eggs. Then gradually add flour. Mix and knead smooth, soft dough.

Put in greased bowl, grease top. Let rise till double in bulk. Roll out on floured board about 1/2 inch thick, cut with 3″ round cutter. Brush with melted margarine, fold in half, butter tops. Place close in greased pan. Let rise until doubled.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-20 minutes. I usually cook at 350 instead so they don’t get so brown on the bottom and are still done in the middle