Hand-made Gnocchi Recipe with Leek Butter Sauce (2024)

  • Updated: February 21, 2022
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Hand-made Gnocchi Recipe with Leek Butter Sauce (1)

Mmmm, we are big fans of gnocchi here, and with this easy gnocchi recipe, you will be too. Perfect to share with the family during the holidays – who doesn’t love soft potato pillows with a sweet and creamy umami leek butter sauce?!

Melt in the mouth glory. Add in any dark greens you wish to give this one a Wicked healthy edge!

I started working with this special sauce when we had an abundance of leeks for an event, years back. I wanted to incorporate them into our menu and here’s the result! I melted them all down until soft, added a splash of non-dairy milk, and whipped up a sweet cartable sauce that is perfectly served with pasta, but even better with gnocchi when you want a belly-full of delicious goodness.

Don’t be intimidated by making your own gnocchi, follow us and you’ll see it’s super easy with a bit of basic know-how, and boy, are the results worth it.

Gnocchi is great to batch cook, freeze, and have available for a quick and delicious meal.

  • 8 Yukon Gold Potatoes, medium, kept whole
  • Spray oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 large leeks
  • 1/2 cup nondairy milk, unsweetened
  • A handful of small kale leaves

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, 220 degrees Celsius. Poke potatoes with fork a few times, and spray with cooking oil. Place on baking sheet and bake in oven until tender, about 45 minutes. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel with a paring knife and grate the potatoes with a cheese grater into a medium bowl.
  2. Sprinkle flour slowly into grated potatoes, mixing as you go, until mixture resembles a dough-like ball.
  3. Make the pasta: Sprinkle a cutting board with flour, and begin to knead the dough ball until the dough becomes firm. You don’t want to overwork the dough, so knead for about 8 minutes. Allow to sit for the gluten to settle. Wrap in plastic for at least 15 minutes before rolling out.
  4. Cut dough ball in half.
  5. Using one half of dough, sprinkle your surface with flour again and begin to roll the dough until it forms a long roll, about 2 feet (60 cm) long. Cut dough with a knife into squares, about 1 inch by 1 inch (2.5 cm x 2.5 cm).
  6. Gently roll the gnocchi squares over a gnocchi board if you have one, creating ridges on the pasta.
  7. The gnocchi hold up best if you freeze before cooking. This helps them not break apart while cooking. So place the tray in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. While you are doing this make the leek sauce and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  8. To make the leek sauce: Chop white part and some of the green of leeks and wash sand out of layers by placing leeks in a strainer and rinsing. Pat dry and dice the leeks.
  9. Heat two swirls of extra virgin olive oil on low to medium in a large pot. Add leeks to pot. Cook until the leeks become translucent, being careful not to brown them. Allow them to cook for 8-10 minutes stirring well.
  10. Add almond milk to leeks and simmer. Puree mixture with a hand blender and set aside in a warm spot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Cook the gnocchi: Fill a bowl with ice water and set aside. Add pasta to large pot of boiling water and, working quickly using a slotted spoon or small sieve, drop in frozen gnocchi and cook until it floats on the surface of the water, 2-3 minutes. Remove pasta from water and place in the bowl of water. When ready to use, strain and save for a later date, or get ready to pan-fry to serve.
  12. Heat a pan on medium heat and add 2 swirls of olive oil. When oil shimmers, add gnocchi to the pan.
  13. Add strips of kale to the pan, and the leek butter, a bit at a time. Toss the pasta and kale in the sauce in the pan. Remove from heat and divide amongst serving bowls. Top with plant-based parm and enjoy!

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Hand-made Gnocchi Recipe with Leek Butter Sauce (15)

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Hand-made Gnocchi Recipe with Leek Butter Sauce (2024)

FAQs

What should you not do when making gnocchi? ›

Don't overwork the dough: When making gnocchi dough, it's important not to overwork it. Overworking the dough can make the gnocchi tough and chewy. Mix the ingredients together just until the dough comes together, and then stop mixing! You're not kneading bread here.

Why did my gnocchi turned out mushy? ›

Your gnocchi may be mushy because of any or all of the following reasons: boiled the potatoes instead of baked them. used waxy new potatoes with too much moisture in them. not used eggs to help texture.

Is gnocchi better fried or boiled? ›

Forget boiling it, you can actually just toss it in a skillet and cook it. This means less dishes, as it's all cooked in one skillet and crispy, pan fried gnocchi is the result. I love the texture of crispy gnocchi, with it's crunchy browned exterior.

What do Italians eat with gnocchi? ›

A classic choice for saucing gnocchi is a simple combination of butter and sage, but the possibilities are endless. Simpler sauces like pesto, marinara and vodka are good choices, as are heartier sauces like Bolognese, cheese and cream sauces. Since gnocchi is fairly neutral in flavor, it pairs well with most anything.

Is gnocchi better or worse for you than pasta? ›

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

What is the best flour for gnocchi? ›

Some gnocchi recipes recommend floury potatoes instead, such as Idaho potatoes or Russet potatoes, but I don't always agree. They're too mealy. Tipo 00 Flour is a soft, fine milled flour from Italy. It's a must-have for light and tender gnocchi and homemade pasta.

What are the best potatoes for gnocchi? ›

Russets will do, but Yukon Golds have more of the nutty flavor of the yellow-fleshed boiling potatoes used by the Italian and Provençal cooks who have mastered gnocchi.

Why did my homemade gnocchi fall apart? ›

If you overdo it with flour, your gnocchi will be too hard, if you put too little they will break during cooking. The rule says that the flour must be at most a third of the amount of potatoes.

Should gnocchi float when done? ›

Poach gnocchi in batches in a pan of lightly salted water for 2-4 minutes. Cooked gnocchi will float to the top. Strain and serve immediately with a good pasta sauce.

Should gnocchi be soft or chewy? ›

Cooked gnocchi should have a light, squidgy texture, and should not be tough and chewy.

Why is my homemade gnocchi chewy? ›

Chewy gnocchi are the result of too much flour and over kneading the dough. It's important to knead the dough just until it comes together into a smooth ball and no more. This is because you don't want to encourage too much gluten development which makes them tough, chewy and rubbery.

Can you cook gnocchi in sauce instead of water? ›

A perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe, the mini gnocchi is cooked directly in the vodka sauce, no pre-boiling necessary (which means less dishes for you!)

How do you know when gnocchi is done? ›

gnocchi are done when they float. Thank you, but that's cooking instructions - I'm asking about a finished dish, not how to cook them. I cook them until they float, then place them spread out in a dish and into the fridge for an hour.

How should gnocchi be served? ›

Gnocchi is a soft, pillowy pasta made with potatoes, and it's an extremely versatile dish. Classic gnocchi is typically served with a sauce made from browned butter and sage, but you can use almost any sauce you like with your pasta!

Do Italians consider gnocchi pasta? ›

While gnocchi are a traditional Italian pasta shape, what makes them distinct is that they use potatoes as the main ingredient. Therefore, they're commonly considered to be a dumpling. Like many dishes in Italian cuisine, gnocchi vary in both name, appearance, and recipe across the regions of lo Stivale.

Why do Italians eat gnocchi? ›

Gnocchi, a substantial, high-calorie dish, was prepared on Thursday in anticipation of Friday, when, according to Catholic tradition, people fasted, abstaining from meat. On Friday, Romans traditionally ate fish-based dishes, such as chickpeas and cod, a dish still served on Fridays in the old-fashioned Roman taverns.

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