why are my gnocchi so bad?

Question

I tried about 10 different recipes.
Several times they dissolved in the boiling water (too little flour?)
When I added more flour, they were hard & tasted really gummy & gross.

Why can't they be tender little morsels? What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

maybe your doing it wrong. Do you follow it step by step?

try this one :)

Gnocchi

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Italian Pasta

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
G Granaroli XBRG76A
4 lg Eggs
2 1/2 cups flour -- (2 1/2 to 3)
8 lg Baking potatoes
2 teaspoon Salt

boil potatoes in skins until just tender. while hot, remove skins and press
through potato ricer in a large mound on a floured surface. Make a well in the
middle and crack eggs into it. Sprinkle salt around, and add 2 1/2 cups flour
around it. Mix eggs in well gently encorporating potato and flour with it. Mix
with hands into a ball and add more flour to until dough is not sticky. Place
dough on the side on a floured surface. Clean and flour surface well. Cut a
piece of dough off and roll into a long snake-like form. (about 1 inch around.
Cut into 1 inch pieces and pus aside onto floured surface again to prevent
sticking to board or to each other. When all pieces are cut, make grooves by
gently rollin the off the grating side of a cheese grater at the same time
making an indentation with the thumb, They need not be perfect, just enough
groove to hold some sauce. Have a very large pot of salted water boiling. Place
half of the gnocchi into the boiling water, stir briefly and cover. When water
reboils remove cover.
When gnocchi rises to the top. remove with a large slotted strainer and place
in serving bowl with sauce of your choice. Mix gently and cover.

Answer 2

Usuayll if they fall apart theres not enough flour. Gnocchi, just like pizza dough or bread dough, recipes dont really do any good. You have to know waht its suppost to feel like, the measurments arent always right - humididty and temperature could cause the amounts to vary. When your adding the flour ... just keep adding until the dough doesnt stick to your hands. Then stop kneading- over kneading could cause it to be hard and have that gummy texture. Before you make them all just cut a little piece and put it in the water to see if it falls apart... if it does ... add a little more flour to the dough. It could also turn out bad if you over cook them - they should only be in the water for a min or 2.

I found this recipe pretty acurate, but dont be afraid to add more flour if its still sticky ... or not add all the flour.

Gnocchi

3 medium russet potatoes (1 3/4 pounds total)
1 large egg yolk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or more as needed)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pierce the potatoes a few times with a sharp paring knife and put them in the oven.
Bake potatoes until tender and cooked through, about 40 minutes.
When cool enough to handle (the hotter the potatoes, the lighter the gnocchi), peel potatoes and pass them through a ricer, if you don’t have a ricer you can use an ordinary masher.
Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and let cool completely.
Once potatoes are cooled, gather them into a mound on a cutting board and form a well in the centre.
Put the egg yolk into the well and begin kneading the potato and egg together with both hands, gradually adding the grated Parmesan and enough of the flour to form a smooth but slightly sticky dough.
Keep in mind that the longer the dough is kneaded, the more flour it will require and the heavier it will become.
Roll the dough into finger thick strips and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
Sprinkle the pieces lightly with flour.
Using the tines of a fork and the tip of your thumb take one segment and roll it downward toward the tips of the tines. This action will give your dumpling a deep indentation on one side and a ridged surface on the other.
Put the dumplings on a baking sheet lined with a floured kitchen towel.
Cook immediately or freeze.
To freeze the gnocchi, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread a single layer of gnocchi on the parchment. Cover the layer of gnocchi with another sheet of parchment. Spread another layer of gnocchi on the parchment. Repeat with remaining gnocchi, finishing with a layer of parchment paper. Then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze.


I noticed with some of the recipes above they dont have an egg. 1 egg is important because it binds the dough.
And someone said for the water to just be simmering ... it should be at a rigorous boil.


Bring 6 quarts salted water to a rigorous boil.
Add the gnocchi, stirring gently and continuously with a wooden spoon.
Cook the gnocchi until they rise to the surface, about 1 minute.
After they rise to the surface continue cooking them for an additional minute.
Remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon or a skimmer, and transfer to the saucepan with the sauce.
Stir until the gnocchi are covered with the sauce.
Plate and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan, cubed smoked mozzarella and the shredded basil.

Answer 3

Here is the recipe I have always used.

* 2 1/4 pounds, mealy potatoes, peeled
* About 1 3/4 cups flour (see note below)
* A pinch of salt

In making gnocchi you should steam the potatoes rather than boil them. If you do not have a steamer, put the potatoes in a metal colander, set the colander in a spaghetti pot, fill the pot with water to just below the colander, and set the pot, covered, to boil. The potatoes will be done in 30-45 minutes, when a skewer penetrates but they are still firm. Peel them and mash them while they’re still hot (a potato ricer works very well here). Season the potatoes with a pinch of salt and slowly knead in enough flour to obtain a fairly firm, smooth, non-sticky dough -- exactly how much flour will depend upon how moist the potatoes are.

Roll the dough out into snakes about as thick as your finger, cut the snakes into one-inch pieces, and gently score the pieces crosswise with a fork. As an alternative to scoring with a fork, Bugialli suggests you gently press them against the inside of a curved cheese grater, to obtain a curved shape with a depression on one side. The choice is up to you.

Cook the gnocchi in abundant salted boiling water, removing them with a slotted spoon a minute or two after they rise to the surface. Drain them well and serve them with a few leaves of sage, melted unsalted butter and Parmigiano, or meat sauce, or pomarola, or pesto.

Serves 6

Also I read somewhere that using older waxy potatoes are best - I have no idea why but I use them just to be safe :)

Answer 4

In Italy, we believe that there should be a ratio of 25% flour to the potato content (by volume) - but admittedly there are a lot of variables to be taken in consideration.

The less the flour, the more difficult the gnocchi will be to handle.
Boil only a few at time - and also don't make large quantities.

Like making pizza (only a good, experienced pizzaiolo will have the art), making gnocchi (and fresh pasta) are a specialist's work.

Nowadays few home cooks have the time and all around expertise of our grandmothers to do a perfect job - not to speak of lousy supermarket ingredients.

Answer 5

Gnocchi is notoriously difficult unless the ingredients are JUST RIGHT!!

I have tried a few times, with varying rates of success, depending on:
1. Very mealy old potatoes, NOT waxy ones
2. water barely simmering, definitely NOT boiling.
3. Remove from the water the second they are ready,
4. Eat them immediately, they are not a food that copes well with standing around, as they go stodgy and heavy, and use a really yummy and light sauce.

Last, save this dish to enjoy at your favourite italian restaurant, they are the experts......

Answer 6

Use 1 part flour to 1 part ricotta (mix well but quickly) allow dough to rest (15 min) roll out then freeze, drop in boiling water till they float then done. you now have a simple ricotta gnocchi that would go well with ratatouille or diced pancetta with ......

Answer 7

onlineeeyore has the best recipe so far, but i have found that using the older russets and baking them, rather than boiling them works better, cause more moisture in the pre-boiled gnocchi will cause them to be a litle more fragile.

hope it helps!

Answer 8

It's an Italian thing. I don't try to make sushi. Don't try to make gnocchi. It will never be right unless you have someone who was brought up with it teach you. Recipes rarely do Italian food justice.

Answer 9

Maybe it is the cooking method. I never boil mine. I always fry it with butter and eat with marinara sauce. Its really good that way.

Answer 10

Don't put them into BOILING water that's why they fell apart. The water should only be simmering.