How Nigella Lawson Cooks Potatoes For Gnocchi And Why

Known for her outgoing personality and her no-fuss recipes, it's no wonder that Nigella Lawson is one of the U.K.'s most prolific culinary celebrities. With go-to meals like her one-pot roast chicken dinner, it's clear that Lawson's attention to detail is what sets her recipes apart. And, her hack for airy gnocchi is no different. Lawson indicated on social media that she prefers baking her potatoes over boiling them for gnocchi. She further elaborated that baking allows the potatoes to cook while also drying out, which results in using less flour, leading to a more pillowy texture.

While gnocchi is an Italian pasta staple whose base recipe consists of eggs, flour, potatoes, and salt, the simplicity of the dish allows for endless variations. Some recipes for gnocchi sub freshly cooked potatoes for instant mashed potato flakes, while other recipes will have you omit the eggs. If you want to try Lawson's hack, bake the potatoes skin-on at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. When you take the potatoes out of the oven, cut them in half lengthwise and let them cool. Once you discard the skins and put the insides through a potato ricer, your baked potatoes are ready for whichever gnocchi recipe you decide on.

One large contributor to nailing the perfect gnocchi texture is the type of potato used in the recipe. Some potatoes are more starchy than others. Yukon Gold potatoes have the perfect amount of starch that is both malleable and fluffy yet waxy enough to hold its shape.

Another thing to be cautious of is too much flour in your gnocchi mixture. Overusing flour can result in chewy-textured gnocchi, which is not ideal. To make sure your texture is correct, use one single gnocchi as a guinea pig and drop it in water to see if it can keep together while cooking. For perfectly cooked gnocchi, be sure to boil them in heavily salted water. When the gnocchi is fully done, they'll float to the surface, so be sure not to leave them in water too long after they have popped up.

Once the gnocchi is ready, you can serve it with a variety of sauces. You can use a strongly flavored creamy sauce made with gorgonzola cheese to counter the mild flavor of the dumpling. You can also toss hot gnocchi with your favorite pesto sauce or with brown butter and herbs for a fresher take on the pasta dish. Finally, you can stick to what you know and eat the gnocchi alla Sorrentina, with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.