Homemade Gnocchi

I do not have a food mill or ricer, so I used my colander and pushed the potatoes through the holes. It was a little time consuming, but I was not going to rush out and buy a ricer just to see if my family likes gnocchi. I may buy one now!

The sauce is a hearty vegetarian sauce with lots of mushrooms.

It was a little messy to make, but worth it.

I served the gnocchi with a fresh baguette that I ordered from Barefoot Bread.

For the gnocchi:

From the Food Network Magazine

• Kosher salt
• 3 large russet potatoes (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour a mound of kosher salt onto a rimmed baking sheet. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and nestle them in the salt; this prevents the potatoes from browning and draws out their moisture. Bake the potatoes until fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Let sit until just cool enough to handle.

Halve the potatoes lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a potato ricer; discard the skin. Press the flesh through the ricer onto a floured counter or cutting board; let cool 3 to 4 minutes.
Spread out the potatoes slightly. Beat the egg with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and drizzle over the potatoes.
Sprinkle the potato mixture with 1 cup flour and knead until a smooth dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if the dough is sticky. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes.
Lightly flour your surface. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll into "snakes," about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2-to-1-inch lengths with a bench cutter or knife; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly dust with flour.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi; wait until they float to the surface, then simmer 30 more seconds. (Taste one to make sure it's cooked through.)

For the sauce I used one of Giada's vegetarian bolognese recipe.  You could also do a brown butter and sage sauce with freshly grated parmesan cheese as well. For Giada's recipe, I felt the onion over powered the recipe so next time I will only use a half of an onion. Hubby loves onions so he really liked the sauce the way it was. I did add a can of tomato sauce to tone down the onion flavor for me and I really liked that. I also added a little red chili flakes once I plated mine.