½cupfinely chopped mixed fresh herbsgreatest variety possible
Zest of half a medium-sized lemonor to taste
4large egg yolks
¾cupall purpose flourplus more for rolling out the dough
Instructions
Steam the potatoes for 30 minutes or until very tender, alternately you can simmer them gently until they can be pierced with a knife, but don’t over cook them.
Remove the potatoes to a bowl to cool.
Peel the potatoes, cutting thin slices off with a knife. Discard the skins, then rice the potato, moving quickly to not let them cool down.
Mix the riced potato with the egg yolk, salt, zest and herbs, tasting a little to gauge if you want a little more of this or that.
Gently mix in (don’t knead) the flour to make a dough, then roll the dough into logs about ¾ inch in diameter, cut into small morsels, toss gently with flour and roll off a gnocchi board onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
From here the gnocchi can be cooked straight away, or frozen for storage and cooked directly from the freezer.
Freeze the gnocchi until rock solid, then transfer to a zip top bag until needed.
To cook gnocchi from frozen
To cook the gnocchi from frozen, bring a large pasta pot (at least 1 gallon or preferably more) of lightly salted water to a rolling boil, add the gnocchi, stir, cover the pan to help it heat up quickly, bring it back to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and wait for the gnocchi to float, with the lid on to trap the heat.
After the gnocchi float, allow them to cook for 1 minute more, then remove to the pan with your sauce, or toss in a bowl.
Par cooking gnocchi
Alternately, rinse the gnocchi in warm water to remove starch, drain, toss with oil, and keep in the fridge spread out on a tray in a single layer covered with cling film for a couple hours to par cook them, then slip them into a sauce and heat through. Par cooked gnocchi in the fridge will get gummy if left overnight.
Notes
The herbs you choose will have a big impact on the flavor. Just be careful not to use herbs that are too strong. Here's a few examples of herbs I like in this. Tarragon, chervil, fresh thyme or lemon thyme, lovage, sorrel, chives and mint are some of my favorites.