Simple & Decadent Cacio e Pepe Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of the most delicious dishes out there, but homemade gnocchi is at a whole other level. Similarly, cacio e pepe is one of our top favorite pasta dishes, so when you combine the two, we don’t think it could get much better than this. While it sounds fancy shmancy, we promise that this dish is really quite simple to make, though it certainly won’t taste that way. Give it a go with this straightforward recipe.

What You Need

4 large russet potatoes

2.5 cups all purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons butter

0.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese

0.25 cup grated Pecorino cheese

What To Do

Preheat your over to 400 degrees F. Poke holes all around your potatoes with a fork and place them right on the oven racks. Bake them until they are easily pierced through with a knife, which will take about an hour. Let them cool enough to handle.

Once cooled, cut the potatoes in half and then scoop out their insides, discarding the skins. Mash them well with a fork or put them through a ricer.

In a large bowl, mix together the riced potatoes, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper and bring together until it forms a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth, which should take about 3 minutes.

Divide the dough into four separate pieces. Roll out each piece into a rope using your hands until it is about 3/4 of an inch diameter. Cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces. Put the pieces onto a floured baking sheet.

If the dough is too soft, you can place the pieces in the freezer for about 10 minutes to chill and harden.

Using the back side of a fork, roll each of the small pieces along the tines to create the classic gnocchi ridges and then put them back onto the baking sheet.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi until they float to the top, about two minutes. Drain the gnocchi, making sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Take a slotted spoon and add the cooked gnocchi into the melted butter. Add in some freshly grated pepper.

Add in the shredded Pecorino and Parmesan until the cheese has fully melted and the pepper is fragrant. Add in the pasta water a few tablespoons at a time until a sauce comes together.

Serve warm and add more cheese as desired. Enjoy!