ITALY - Potato Gnocchi

1 kg of potatoes (a little over 2 pounds)
250 g of Flour (italian type '00') - approximately 1-3/4 cups. Flour available at Bay Cities Deli
ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 egg, separated

Wash potatoes. put potatoes in a pot of salted cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Once water has come to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover; cook until tender (about 40 minutes). Remove from heat, drain and cool completely.

Peel and mash potatoes through a ricer. Gather the potatoes on a lightly floured wooden pastry board; add the flour, nutmeg, salt and each half of the egg yolk and egg white. Knead the potato pastry very quickly so that it does not become sticky (for about 5 minutes); add flour as necessary.

On a floured surface, roll pastry into a thick string and cut into smaller pieces (about thumb-size). Be sure to cut the gnocchi the same size so that they cook evenly. Roll each gnocchi in the palm of the hand using the back of a fork then pinch slightly between thumb and index finger to puff (the fork indentations serve to better hold the sauce). Lightly flour prepared gnocchi so they don't stick to each other.

Cook gnocchi in boiling salted water in small batches, 2 to 3 minutes; remove from water with a skimming ladle.

serve immediately with a sauce.

comment: if after boiling the potatoes are very wet they will not have the right consistency for the gnocchi. put them in the oven at medium temperature to remove the moisture. another "fix" is to add 1 egg and some potato flour. these two ingredients will keep the texture of the gnocchi smooth.