One Potato Gnocchi - Just Because

I don't know how I missed it, but there it was, sitting at the bottom of the white plastic bin where I store my potatoes and onions…a single russet. A single potato is never a good thing. Do you wait to buy more, and hope it blends in? Do you waste all that gas and heat, cooking one single potato? One of the few practical uses for these rogue spuds is to make a small batch of potato gnocchi.

Let me disclose right up front that I really don't like gnocchi that much. They're "Aight" as Randy Jackson might say, but I never go out of my way to eat them. However, I love to make them. This is an interesting recipe to make, and just about the most fun thing you can do with a single potato (assuming you lost your Mr. Potatohead parts long ago).

There is no such thing as an exact recipe for gnocchi. If you don't like cooking by feel, and need exact measurements before attempting to cook something, this recipe is not for you. Potato sizes vary, the starch/water contents vary, how you cook it, and how much flour you add not only depends on the aforementioned factors, but also on the desired texture/density of the gnocchi.

I like a very potato'y gnocchi, so I go with just enough flour to form the dough. Other people prefer a denser, more pasta-like dumpling, and use much more flour. I know many of you hate it when I say this, but you'll just have to figure it out as you go. The good news is, figuring things out in the kitchen is fun. Enjoy!

Tech Note: I'm having a sound issue with the videos in Vimeo with the Mozo pre-roll at the beginning. I'll continue to work on it, but until I figure it out here is a low-res YouTube version to hold you over.

Here is the Vimeo version, and you can hear the sound distortion problem. They are working on this issue, and hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Ingredients:

• 1 large russ