You might already know that some Italians use baking soda, rather than sugar, in their tomato sauce to make it less acidic, or that they sometimes use far more water than you’d expect for their pasta.
Now, it seems, there’s another trick most of us have missed.
Though many people boil the spuds for gnocchi in water before mashing them up with eggs and flour to form the delicious parcels, Angela Hartnett wrote in her Italian cookbook Cucina that there’s a secret to making the parcels “melt in the mouth.”
“The trick is to keep the potatoes dry so that the gnocchi are fluffy and melt in the mouth,” she said.
Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli agrees with her, telling the Guardian he uses a similar method to draw as much moisture as possible out of the spuds.
How?
Well, it starts with the potato selection ― flourier options like King Edward or Maris Piper will be fluffier and drier than, say, a waxy baby new potato.
After that, both Angela Hartnett and Giorgio Locatelli roast, rather than boil, their potatoes.
In fact Angela pushes it even further, baking the potato on a bed of salt before mashing it up (for what it’s worth, this makes great mash too).
“You must also use the potato flesh while it is still hot – don’t leave it to cool too much first,” she shared in her book.
This seems to be a universally-held belief among gnocchi pros, including the Italians (at least you’ll get amply rewarded for your suffering).
All of this is to prevent the dreaded chewiness so many of us associate with the potato pasta.
The “melt in the mouth” texture should be present in every gnocchi parcel, Angela says; “if you have to chew them, you’ve added too much egg or flour.”
Anything else?
While you’re boiling the gnocchi, it’s important to stir them to prevent clumping, Locatelli says.
You’ll still be able to spot when the first buoyant bundle is ready to rise to the top, and it prevents the gnocchi from sticking to itself (clumping is an unforgivable sin).
After they’ve risen to the top of the pot, count to ten before removing them with a slotted spoon and enjoy the lightest, fluffiest version of gnocchi you’ve tried.