Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

Sometimes we let potatoes sit a little too long in the kitchen, and they start to sprout eyes and become a bit soft. If this happens to you, and you think they are destined for the garbage, WAIT! These ugly little potatoes can be transformed into a delicious meal. Indeed, potato gnocchi made with old potatoes is far superior to potato gnocchi made with potatoes in their prime because they contain less water and more starch. The gnocchi instructions below are adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. She recommends using any kind of old boiling potato, and specifically advises against using any kind of baking potato or new potato as either will yield gnocchi that are "likely to collapse while cooking." The potatoes I used in this case are Yukon Gold.

With just six ingredients including these lowly potatoes, and a little patience, you will impress your family with a tasty and economical meal.

You will need:

1 1/2 pounds potatoes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 large can of Italian tomatoes with their juices

5 tablespoons of butter

1 medium sized onion

salt

First, boil the potatoes in water until they are soft. The smaller ones will cook first, and you can remove them as they are done.

Meanwhile, start your sauce. Dump the tomatoes in a pan, chop them up roughly with some kitchen shears, add the butter and some salt. Peel and halve the onion, and place it in the pan with the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer, stirring every so often.

As you stir your sauce now and then, break up any large chunks of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.

This sauce is so simple, and so tasty, and it can be enjoyed on any kind of pasta!

When the potatoes are soft, peel them while still warm.

(It's worth mentioning that any traces of the "eyes", and any discolored spots should be removed prior to eating any potato, as these blemishes can be toxic.)

Now, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. I used the same one I boiled the potatoes in - less to clean up later :)

Pass the peeled potatoes through a food mill to make a puree.

Place the potato puree on a floured work surface, and knead in the 1 1/2 cups of flour a little at a time. Depending how absorbent your potatoes are, you may not need to add all of the flour. Your dough should end up soft and just a little bit sticky.

Divide the dough into a few smaller pieces.

Then, using both hands, roll each portion into 1 inch thick snakelike cylinders, dividing it into more pieces as necessary to keep it at a manageable length.

Using a sharp knife, divide each cylinder into little pillows of dough.

Using a fork as a shaping tool, use your index finger to indent each pillow in the center.

The fork will create a groove pattern on one side, useful for trapping the sauce.

Make a batch of gnocchi, and test a few in the boiling water to determine the cooking time. They should float to the top, and then require 10 seconds, more or less, to become done. When they are done they should not taste of raw flour. I left mine in for 20-30 seconds.

Here are the gnocchi, looking lovely boiling in the salted water:

Once cooked, remove the gnocchi from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander.

Cook any remaining batches of gnocchi in the same boiling water.

Once all the gnocchi has been cooked, serve in bowls and top with the warm sauce.

If desired, you may also top your gnocchi with some Parmesan cheese. We had ours with sauce only, and didn't miss a thing.