Form gnocchi with ridges on the outside and a seam on one side.
For a gourmet, rustic Italian meal, make traditional potato dumplings called gnocchi. These dumplings can be served with a variety of sauces, making them a versatile backbone for a meal. After you have made the gnocchi dough from mashed potato, flour and egg, the trickiest part is to form the dough into the individual dumplings. Traditionally, they are curved with ridges on the outside and a small seam one one side, which helps them cook faster and hold the sauce.
Instructions
1. Roll the gnocchi dough out between your hands or on a lightly floured surface to make a log about 1/2 inch in diameter.
2. Slice the log with a knife into pieces about 1 inch long.
3. Lightly flour a cookie sheet and set it aside for the rolled gnocchi.
4. Hold a fork upside-down with the tines touching your work surface and coming up at about a 45-degree angle.
5. Lightly press a piece of gnocchi against the fork with the tip of your thumb to make a small indentation in the center of the gnocchi.
6. Put the tip of your thumb on the end of the gnocchi nearest the fork handle and gently roll it down toward the work surface. You will be making ridges around the gnocchi and rolling the top end down around the indentation you made with your thumb.
7. Set the gnocchi on the lightly floured cookie sheet.
Tags: your thumb, about inch, cookie sheet, gnocchi dough, lightly floured