Gnocchi

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Poke potatoes all over with a fork and place directly on oven racks. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly. [Tip: Place potatoes in the microwave for 6 minutes or until soft enough to pierce easily with a fork for a time-saving cooking method.] 

2. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half and scoop out insides. Discard skins. [Tip: Use skins for vegetable stock or as fertilizer in your garden as it is rich in potassium and phytonutrients, which plants like.]  

3. Run potatoes through a ricer or mash well with a fork.  

4. In a large bowl, combine riced potatoes, flour, eggs, salt, and a little pepper until a dough forms.  

5. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes.  

6. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a long rope, about 2 cm in diameter. Cut ropes into 2.5 cm pieces. Place pieces on a lightly floured baking sheet. If the dough is too soft to work with at this point, place it in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.  

7. On the backside of a fork, roll each piece along the tines to create ridges and place it back on the baking sheet.  

8. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the gnocchi until it floats to the top, about 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain.  

9. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Using a slotted spoon, add cooked gnocchi into melted butter. Season with several cranks of black pepper. Add Parmesan and Pecorino and toss until melted and pepper is fragrant for about 2 minutes. Add pasta water, a couple of tablespoons at a time to help sauce come together, as needed.  

10. Serve warm with more Parmesan. 

Adapted from recipe by Makinze Gore.