Have you ever tried Spinach and Potatoes Gnocchi? They’re as easy as normal gnocchi, but the spinach give them this cute green colour. Plus, I guess it’s an easy way to make picky kids (and adults) eat their vegetables.

Gnocchi aren’t difficult to make, at all. They just require quite a lot of time and patience, as you’ll need to shape them one-by-one. Will always remind me of home and Sunday lunches. My Grandma – from my mother’s side, my dad’s side grandma is really famous for homemade lasagne or bigoli- used to make flawless pumpkin gnocchi everytime we had a lunch all together. Unfortunately, she didn’t share the real recipe to anyone,, and we’re all still trying to reproduce them. With no much success.

Spinach gnocchi weren’t a thing in my family, which is quite weird. But I guess that’s because we just like the original potatoes or pumpkin ones too much to change. These gnocchi came out incredibly great. I’ll show you my sauce recipe tomorrow, but in the meantime you can prepare these and toss them with any sauce you prefer. I think they go great with some simple tomato sauce. Here’s a secret: we love to toss gnocchi with just butter and sage, and grated parmigiano reggiano on top.

InItaly, we say “Giovedi’ gnocchi – Gnocchi on Thursday”. What are you waiting for? start boiling the water and prepare these for lunch tomorrow!

“For the primo piatto, the chef had chosen to serve a dish he called gnocchi- small dumplings made with potato flour. It was an unusual dish as potatoes were a rarity from the New World and largely unknown.[…]The butter and sage coated my mouth so that the taste lasted even after I swallowed. I liked the way it felt in my stomach, solid and nourishing, and I looked forward to learning how to make it.”
Elle Newmark, The Book of Unholy Mischief

Spinach and Potatoes Gnocchi

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 45

Cook Time 5

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2 people

Equipment

pot with boiling water
Bowl
potato masher
Fork or Gnocchi Shaper

Ingredients

300 gr Potatoes Russel are the best
300 gr Spinach Fresh or Frozen
50 gr Strong Bread Flour
1 Egg
as required Extra Flour

Instructions

Boil the potatoes with their own skin for about 30-45 min, until tender. Check with a fork, if the fork enters the potato easily, they're ready.
Drain and let the potatoes cool, and in the meantime pan fry the spinach for 10-15 min. Don't boil then first, as they might accumulate too much water.
Peel the potatoes and place them in a clean bowl, and use a fork or a potato masher to mash them. Cut the cooked spinach into really tiny pieces (you could use an electric blender if you wish) and add to the potatoes.
Add the egg and the flour to the bowl and mix well. The result should be a soft but consistent dough. In case the dough results too mushy, add some more flour, until easy to give it shape.
Shape the gnocchi. On a lightly floured surface, cut small amounts of dough to form ropes and cut into 2 cm pieces, then slide each piece on a fork or gnocchi shaper and squeeze a little (but not too hard). Sprinkle with a little bit of flour and toss, so they don’t stick together.
In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the gnocchi. Gnocchi are ready when they float to the top. Drain and toss with desired sauce.

Notes

These can be kept for a couple of days in the fridge. Never cook them in advance.

You could instead freeze them. Place the fresh gnocchi on a floured plate or tray, not too close one from the other, and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once frozen, you can move them to a freezing bag. Cook tossing them directly into salted boiling water.

Keyword flour, gnocchi, healthy, italan, potatoes, spinach, traditional