Recreating a dish by Thomas Keller—the Michelin-starred chef behind fine dining institutions like French Laundry and Per Se—might sound daunting. After all, his signature is “Oysters and Pearls,” a sabayon of pearl tapioca with oysters and caviar. But chef Keller also has recipes perfect for home cooks, like his hand-rolled gnocchi, which only requires 5 ingredients. Think Michelin-star gnocchi is out of your league? Well, it’s simple enough for kids to master. Follow along as three young chefs join Keller in the kitchen for a cooking lesson, and check out the recipe below.
Ingredients
2 russet potatoes, approximately 11 ounces each
1⁄2 box Kosher salt (for baking potatoes and seasoning water)
75-100 grams flour (3⁄4 cup)
35 grams egg yolks (about 2 yolks)
8 Grams Kosher Salt for Gnocchi Dough (1.5 t)
Vegetable Oil Spray
Equipment
Pasta board
Ricer
12-quart stockpot Bench scraper
Spider or skimmer Parchment Paper
Baking sheet Gnocchi paddle
Digital Scale paper towels
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pierce the potatoes with a fork to allow moisture to escape while baking. Pour a generous mound of salt onto the center of a baking sheet and set the potatoes on top. Bake for one hour and use a paring knife to test for doneness. They should be soft and completely cooked. Brush off the excess salt and begin the process for making gnocchi while the potatoes are still hot.
Scoop the potato flesh out of its jacket while still hot and moist and push through the ricer onto your working surface. Form a well with the riced potato, much as you would for pasta dough, and sprinkle with flour. Add the egg yolks and more flour and use the bench scraper to mix in the ingredients. Begin to form a ball of dough, working gently. Do not knead—this will activate the gluten and make gummy gnocchi. The finished ball of dough should be soft to the touch and hold the imprint of your finger.
Use your fingers, not your palms, to roll and stretch the dough out to a rope the diameter of your preference. Cut the roll into pieces the size that you’d like your gnocchi to be, and then roll each piece into a ball. Gently roll each ball onto the gnocchi paddle to form ovular-shaped gnocchi with ridges, letting each piece fall from the paddle onto the sheet pan. Bring the 12-quart stock pot full of water to a simmer and Season with salt and add gnocchi. Test for texture.
If the gnocchi fall apart, it may need a little more flour and working of the dough. If the gnocchi are heavy and dense, there is not much you can do other than make observations and use this information to prevent this from occurring in subsequent batches.
As with any dumpling, the gnocchi will float to the top when done. Skim the gnocchi into an ice bath then drain on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. You can either serve your gnocchi right away, refrigerate and use within two days, or freeze and store for future use.
