There is nothing more creamy and enjoyable than Gnocchi with four cheeses! Obviously with some good handmade gnocchi, not to soft and not to hard. Normally you know gnocchi made with a classic red sauce. Here, if you are a gnocchi and cheese lover, is a truly experience to a deep immersion of a white cream cheese! Taleggio, Emmental, Gorgonzola and Fontina are the classic cheeses used, but alternatively others variety can be used instead. A real greasy cuddle to be accompanied with a glass of good wine. Here the authentic Italian Gnocchi recipe and the classic four cheeses white sauce you cannot missed!!
For 4 people:
GNOCCHI
The secret to a good gnocchi is the quality of the potatoes. So, please choose the right potatoes for making gnocchi, like Red Royale, Kipfer or similar sweet potatoes that are dry but not watery.
500g Potatoes, unpeeled
150g plain flour
FOUR CHEESE WHITE SAUCE
Gorgonzola 75g
Emmental 50g
Fontina 50g
Taleggio 50g
Sour Cram - Double 200ml (or Italian Panna Parmalat)
salt and pepper
Boil whole potatoes until tender; drain. Peel when cool enough to handle.
In your wooden pasta board, place the flour and make a well in the middle. Using a ricer puree masher, mash the potatoes and combine to the flour, and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, chop all the cheeses into small pieces and keep on the side. Prepare a large pan with water and stir to boil, also keep this on a side.
Returning to the potato puree, when cold add all the flour and start to make a firm dough. Do not worry if is a bit soft as this is normal.
Divide dough into small equal parts and start to roll each part on a generously floured surface. Roll into 2cm thick finger-shape. With a sharp knife, cut into 2cm pieces. When you finish, gently sprinkle more flour all over the gnocchi to avoid them sticking. Try to keep them separately between each other, also avoid to sticking together or to the board.
In a medium frying pan and a low-medium heat, add some black pepper; when you smell the pepper, add a large soup spoon of boiling water, poor the cream and the cheeses. Bring to the boil, and then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, until the cheeses melt completely, continuing to mix with a spatula. This should be cooked for 3-5minutes until you create a smooth sauce. Add more hot water if you need longer time to melt the cheeses and to create the creamy sauce. The sauce needs to be consistent, neither too liquid nor too solid as this will dry fast once you pour over the gnocchi. Add salt or more pepper to taste, remembering that as cheeses can be quite salty already.
Returning to your pan with the water, when boiling add the salt and the gnocchi. When the gnocchi float to the surface, around 2-3 min, remove from pan with slotted spoon and poor into the pan with the white cheese sauce. Add some more pasta water if the cream is too dry.
If the the taste of the four cheeses are not enough, a splash of Parmesan cheese on the top can complete your journey! I personally recommend and love it!!
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