Preparation - Easy
Serves 2

A quick and easy version of a robust winter dish favored from Genoa to Bologna.

This recipe doubles or triples and works well with a simple tomato sauce, butter and sage, etc.

• 2/3 cup dry potato buds for instant mashed potatoes
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 egg, room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

PUT the potato flakes or buds in a medium-size bowl. Add the boiling water; stir until blended. Let cool.

FOLD in the egg and salt with a wooden or plastic spoon or spatula.

ADD flour slowly, folding with the spatula, until you have a fairly firm dough that doesn't stick to the bowl.

TURN dough out onto a well floured surface and knead lightly into a ball. You want just be able to work with the mixture without it sticking unduly - but too much flour will result in gnocchi that are more lead than light.

CUT dough in half.

ROLL each half into a long cylinder about the thickness of your thumb. Cut into bite-size pieces. You can dust lightly with flour or semolina and set aside for a few hours.

TO COOK - put 6 - 8 gnocchi in a few quarts of boiling, salted water (too many at once interferes in the cooking process). As the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in a sieve over a plate to drain further until you are ready to serve. Repeat until all are cooked.

YOU can eat these gnocchi with butter or good olive oil, a grind of black pepper and some Parmesan cheese, or serve with a sauce like:

Bolognese Sauce
Simple Tomato Sauce
Tomato Sauce with Oregano
Butter and Sage