Homemade Gnocchi with Herby Brown Butter Sauce

Gnocchi:

• 1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes (about two medium-sized russet potatoes)
• 1 cup all purpose flour plus more as needed
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 3/4 teaspoons Kosher salt

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Herby Brown Butter Sauce:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (aka: 8 tablespoons or 1 standard stick butter) cut into about 8 small pieces
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage or thyme leaves roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste

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• The Gnocchi: This is a homemade gnocchi recipe, but if you want to make this in a pinch, use storebought gnocchi. Prepare the herby brown butter sauce, and cook gnocchi according to the package instructions, and toss cooked gnocchi in sauce as the recipe mentions.
• The Sauce: Don’t want to make a sauce? Use your favorite store-bought red sauce or pesto. Gently heat in a medium skillet and toss cooked gnocchi in the sauce right before serving. You could also simply toss cooked gnocchi in melted butter or extra virgin olive oil, lots of grated parm, and top with cracked black pepper and call it a day. Kind of like a Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi situation – yum.
• The Herbs: Fresh sage is most classic in a brown butter sauce – fresh thyme and rosemary are great options as well. Softer herbs like fresh basil, flat-leaf parsley, or chives are delicious. If using softer herbs, I'd brown the butter and top the plated dishes with chopped fresh herbs instead of the skillet, as the tender herbs will burn in a skillet with the butter.
• The Cheese: Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano both work to finish the dish.

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Prepare gnocchi dough:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Pierce whole russet potatoes with a fork (this allows steam to escape and prevents them from bursting). Arrange on baking sheet and roast whole potatoes for 1 hr - 1 hr 15 mins, or until completely cooked through and fork tender.
3. When cooked potatoes have slightly cooled, peel skin off or slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out potato in large bowl. Discard skins.
4. In large bowl, mash potatoes with a potato ricer, food mill, handheld masher, or a fork, making sure there are no large clumps. You want it to be tender and light.
5. Add 75% of the flour, and the entire lightly beaten egg, the salt, and gently mix by hand to combine.
6. If the dough is still very wet, add the remaining flour and combine with hands, scraping down excess flour from sides of bowl as needed to incorporate. The dough should easily form a ball and be slightly sticky, but won’t stick to clean, dry hands. Add more flour if needed, one tablespoon at a time.
7. Transfer dough to a lightly floured, flat work surface, like your kitchen counter or table.
8. Cut the dough into four equal pieces.
9. Using the palms of your hands, gently roll each piece into a thin rope shape, about 1/2" in diameter, or about 20 inches long. Cut each rope of dough into 1" pieces, and transfer gnocchi to a floured surface, like a baking sheet with lightly floured parchment paper.
10. Once you've portioned out the gnocchi pieces, you'll make the browned butter, then cook the gnocchi, and transfer cooked gnocchi into the same skillet as the browned butter sauce to heat and toss right before serving.

Make herby brown butter sauce:

1. To make the browned butter sauce, cut the butter into about 8 small pieces. Place butter in a medium to large skillet or saucepan over medium heat to gently melt the butter, swirling the pan around a bit occasionally to ensure the butter melts evenly.
2. After a few minutes, the melted butter will begin to foam a bit and develop a brown bits. It'll smell nutty. Turn off heat entirely, add chopped herbs, and stir to combine - the melted butter will have enough residual heat to continue browning and gently cook the herbs.

Cook gnocchi:

1. To cook to gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Working in batches, add gnocchi to boiling water and stir gently. After about a minute, the gnocchi will float to the top. Let them float for about one more minute, and use a slotted spoon or kitchen spider to transfer cooked gnocchi to the skillet with sauce.

Toss cooked gnocchi in sauce and serve:

1. Once all gnocchi are cooked and in the skillet, turn the heat to medium, toss to coat, and serve in bowls with freshly grated parmigiano or pecorino, flakey salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.

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