Basil Gnocchi

My first attempt at home made gnocchi, and this was quick, fun and oh so yummy! The most time consuming bit is waiting for the potatoes to cook! I served this with leftover pasta sauce, but I imagine the possibilities are endless. Rather than sauce, after poaching the gnocchi you can apparently cook 1/2 cup butter til nut-brown, then toss the gnocchi in it til crisp; sounds evil but delicious!

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons butter
• 200  g plain flour (7 oz)
• 500  g potatoes (17.65 oz)
•  sea salt, to taste
• 1  cup fresh basil, firmly packed
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
•  more plain flour, as needed

Directions

1. Peel potatoes, then steam or boil them til cooked through and tender.
2. While potatoes are cooking, blend the basil leaves and olive oil in a food processor.
3. Mash the potatoes with a fork, add butter and salt & pepper to taste and mash til butter is melted. Set aside for a few minutes til potatoes are not too hot to handle but still warm.
4. Stir in basil/oil mixture; add flour and work into the potato mix til you have a dough.
5. Turn onto a floured workbench and knead gently for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed - dough should be soft, pliable and not sticky.
6. Divide dough into quarters and roll each piece to make a long, thin sausage, then cut sausage into short lengths, whatever size you want your gnocchi to be.
7. Fill a very large saucepan with water and bring to the boil, add some salt. When the water is boiling, add half the gnocchi. Allow the gnocchi to cook for 1 minutes after they rise to the surface, skim them out and keep warm; repeat with remaining gnocchi.
8. Serve with your sauce of choice!