The Store-Bought Staple That Makes Homemade Gnocchi A Breeze

If you've ever fancied making homemade pasta, gnocchi is a good place to start (as is this simple two-ingredient spinach pasta). Forming little pillows of gnocchi doesn't require specialized equipment like a pasta maker. Instead, you simply roll the dough into a rope, cut it into one-inch sections, and give the pieces a quick roll on the back of a fork to make little grooves for the sauce to cling to. The only part of making gnocchi that requires a bit of elbow grease is integrating the potatoes into the dough.

Making a workable dough that is easy to handle involves ricing boiled potatoes into a fine, lump-free mash. Fortunately, there is a way to circumvent boiling, peeling, and mashing spuds by simply using store-bought instant mashed potatoes. This little trick considerably brings down prep time (to less than half an hour!). Plus, using instant mashed potatoes ensures you always get great gnocchi since you don't have to deal with seasonal and varietal differences, as is the case with fresh potatoes. Instead, all you have to focus on is getting the perfect dough consistency by using the right amount of flour, which ensures the gnocchi doesn't turn too doughy and is perfectly light and pillowy.

Dan Pelosi, author of the new cookbook "Let's Party: Recipes and Menus for Celebrating Every Day," gave Chowhound some exclusive insights about getting gnocchi dough right. "The correct texture will be smooth, pliable, and a bit tacky — not sticky," he explains, before delving into how to repurpose mashed potatoes into gnocchi.

The key to getting consistently good gnocchi is heavily dependent on the potato mash. Dan Pelosi recommends being mindful of any ingredients that may eventually affect the texture of the gnocchi. Therefore, when using instant mashed potatoes to make the pasta, scan the ingredient list first and skip the package instructions, which usually call for milk and butter. Instead, simply rehydrate the potatoes with hot water before proceeding with the ingredients for the gnocchi dough.

When it comes to measurements, Pelosi says "the right amount of flour and egg to add will depend on the make up of the mashed potatoes, so play around a bit until you get the right texture of the dough." With rehydrated potatoes, consider starting with equal parts of potato flakes, water for rehydrating, and flour. Then add one egg and adjust as needed. Remember, the delicate texture comes from the potatoes, so only add as much of the other ingredients as needed to hold the mashed potatoes together. Start small and then you can add more flour or eggs to control the consistency, so the gnocchi doesn't start falling apart when boiling.

With the recipe being this easy, it's worth trying gnocchi a few different ways. The versatile potato pasta works well with all kinds of sauces, be it a silky tomato one or herby pesto, and can even simply be tossed with some butter and herbs in a skillet. You can also try cooking gnocchi on a sheet pan for a crunchy version of the delicious pasta that makes for a great snack.