Potato recipes
Homemade Potato Gnocchi in Creamy Grana Padano Sauce with Walnuts
Tender homemade potato gnocchi in a mild, buttery Grana Padano cream sauce with toasted walnuts, black pepper and a little lemon.
- Cuisine
- International cuisine
- Meal type
- Main course
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cooking
- 30 min
- Total
- 55 min
Recipe
These soft potato gnocchi are made by hand, then coated in a gentle cream sauce that keeps Grana Padano at the centre of the dish.
Toasted walnuts bring contrast, while black pepper, nutmeg and a restrained touch of lemon balance the rich, buttery sauce. This is its own cheese-forward gnocchi dish, best eaten as soon as it is ready.
Practical cooking
Ingredients
4 servings
For the potato gnocchi
- 1 kg floury potatoes (ideally cooking type C)
- 220 g plain flour (start with 220 g and add only as needed, up to 280 g; nutrition uses the 250 g midpoint)
- 1 pc egg yolk
- 1 tsp salt
For the creamy Grana Padano sauce
- 200 ml 30–33% whipping cream
- 110 g Grana Padano (100–120 g to taste, finely grated; nutrition uses the 110 g midpoint)
- 60 g walnuts
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- to taste freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- ½ pc finely grated zest from a lemon (use the zest from half a lemon)
- to taste fresh lemon juice (only a few drops from the zested lemon half)
Optional garnish
- to taste fresh sage leaves (6–8 leaves, optional; use these or parsley)
- to taste fresh parsley (a little, optional; use instead of sage)
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 826 kcal3490 kJ
- Fat
- 38.2 g
- Saturated fat
- 17.9 g
- Carbohydrates
- 104.4 g
- Sugars
- 4.8 g
- Fibre
- 8.5 g
- Protein
- 25.1 g
- Salt
- 2.6 g
Calculated estimate. Actual values may vary depending on the ingredients used.
Cook flow
Instructions
Total: 55 min
- 1
Cook and rice the potatoes
Cook, peel and rice the potatoes
Wash the potatoes and cook them whole in their skins until tender, about 25–35 minutes depending on size. Let them cool only until they can be handled, peel them, then press them through a potato ricer onto the work surface while still warm.
Bring the dough together
Spread out the riced potatoes and let the steam escape for about 10 minutes. Add 220 g flour, the egg yolk and salt. Bring the dough together quickly and gently. Add only as much of the remaining flour as needed if the dough is markedly sticky; do not knead it for long.
- 2
Shape the gnocchi
Roll the dough into ropes
Divide the dough into 4–5 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a rope about 2 cm thick.
Cut the gnocchi
Cut the ropes into pieces about 2 cm long. Leave them plain or roll them lightly over a fork to add ridges; the ridges are optional.
- 3
Toast the walnuts and prepare the sauce
Toast the walnuts
Roughly chop the walnuts and toast them in a dry pan for 2–3 minutes, just until fragrant, then set them aside. If using sage, melt the butter next, briefly fry the leaves and set them aside too.
Warm the cream sauce
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a wide pan, then add the cream, black pepper and nutmeg. Warm gently without letting the cream boil hard.
- 4
Cook and finish
Cook the gnocchi in batches
Cook the gnocchi in batches. Once they float, cook them for a further 30–60 seconds, then transfer them directly to the sauce with a slotted spoon. Reserve at least 150 ml of the cooking water before draining anything.
Add the Grana Padano off the heat
Turn the heat down as low as possible or remove the pan from the heat. Add the finely grated Grana Padano and toss gently. Add the reserved gnocchi water one spoonful at a time only as needed, until the sauce is glossy and coats each gnocchi instead of becoming a thick cheese mass.
Add walnuts and lemon
Fold in half the toasted walnuts, the lemon zest and only a few drops of lemon juice. Taste now and add no extra salt automatically, because Grana Padano is already salty.
Serve immediately
Serve at once with the remaining walnuts, freshly ground black pepper and, if desired, the fried sage leaves or a little parsley.
Refine
Tips and variations
Choose floury potatoes
Floury potatoes make lighter gnocchi. Cooking them in their skins also lets them take up less water than peeled potatoes boiled in pieces.
Start with less flour
Begin with 220 g. More flour makes the dough easier to handle, but it also produces firmer, heavier gnocchi.
Do not overwork the dough
Avoid a food processor, blender or prolonged kneading. Too much mechanical work can make potato dough gluey.
Serve without waiting
This dish is best served immediately because the cheese sauce thickens as it stands.
After cooking
Storage and serving
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