Making gnocchi

This semi-lazy Sunday afternoon was spent making gnocchi - thick noodle dumplings popular in Italy and which have their origins in the Piedmont region. Daniele is from that part of Italy and spearheaded this floor-wide event and it was much fun!

Step One: boil a whole bunch of potatoes (with skins on) and get lots of flour on hand.

Step Two: Peel off the skins while the potatoes are still hot.

Step Three: Start mashing up the potatoes until they're of a very fine consistency.

Step Four: And then it's time for the flour - you're looking for the consistency of dough so keep kneeding as needed.

Step Five: Role out the dough into long strips the width of your finger. Then cut them so they're about an inch long.

Step Six: Run them off the side of a fork to create the ribbed pattern. Set them aside, laying them out on a table so that they're not touching.

Step Seven: When you're ready, cook in boiling water.

Step Eight: And finally, top with a tomato sauce of your choosing. Daniele prepared one which was also quite delicious.