I adore the food that you make and eat right away and this is what you do when you make potato dumplings: you make them, cook them in boiling water and eat them. For Marinella this is the only way to have the perfect potato dumplings (in italian we call them “gnocchi di patate”).

Marinella

Marinella is a retired lecturer who is originally from Casentino. Florence has been her home ever since she went there to study at University.

Marinella is a superb cook and when she is not preparing delicious meals for her family and friends she loves to walk along the beach, tend to her garden and read.

I was very fortunate to have Marinella teach me how to make potato dumplings. The dumplings are so easy to make and once you try cooking them I am sure that you will never go back to buying the prepackaged ones.

Ingredients

• 1kg of white potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 150gr of flour
• a pinch of salt

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water.
Once they are ready peel them, cool them down and pass them through the potato masher.

Sprinkle the working surface with flour. Place the smashed potatoes on the flour and start to knead with you hands, add the eggs, the pinch of salt and knead adding little by little the flour, this is very important as the less flour you put the better the result. As soon as the dough stops braking it means that it is ready and if you have some flour left over it is good. This means that you will end up with lighter potato dumplings that are easier to digest.

At this point, separate the dough into little pieces and start using your hands as a rolling pin, to make long worm shapes of approximately 1cm in diameter. Then cut it in to little cubes 1,5/2cm.

Marinella’s cuts in a very regular rhythm, very precise …tac tac tac tac, that helps to make regular cubes, I was almost hypnotised when she was cutting the cubes…

Sprinkle a tray with some semolina and place the dumplings on the tray. Put some salted water on the boil. Gently place the dumplings into the boiling water and when they start to rise that means that they are cooked. You can then lift the dumplings out of the water with a perforated spoon.

You can serve potato dumplings with: tomato sauce, pesto, sage and butter or bolognese sauce.

I love to make potato dumplings, it is so simple and it gives you lots of satisfaction. I know that once you try this recipe these potato dumplings will become the only ones that you will ever want to eat.