It can be easy to write off certain recipes as too much work, but sometimes the effort really is worth it. That’s how I feel about the detailed recipe for gnocchi that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. When I crave gnocchi, only the scratch-made version satisfies me.

Gnocchi take both hands-on and rest time, and even with a large batch, the results only last a couple of meals—although they do freeze well. Once I start the project and get my hands right in the dough, I find it soothing to feel how it comes together and to repeat the roll, cut, and imprint process until I have dozens of neat rows of dumplings lined up on baking sheets.

Potato gnocchi also became more fun to make when I found just the right balance of ingredients and techniques to use my homegrown potatoes yet keep them light and fluffy. When testing showed that a local chef’s recommendation to pan-fry the dumplings produced less gummy gnocchi than boiling, along with a lightly crisped surface, making gnocchi became one of my favorite rainy day kitchen projects.
Learn to make Homemade Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi