gnocchi cacio & pepe

7th day of quarantine, of staying home, of making big sacrifices (for everyone) requires some extra special comfort food. These potato gnocchi are super easy to make and require no special cooking skills and no fancy tools. 

Makes enough for 2 people + some leftovers to freeze

Ingredients 

3 medium size potatoes 
1 egg yolk 
Pecorino Romano (or Toscano, or Sardo)
Parmigiano 
black pepper 
Plain 00 flour 

Directions 

1. Peel the potatoes, place them in a pot, cover them with water and bring to boil. Once the water boils, lower the heat slightly and let them boil until you can poke them with a knife the whole way through. 
2. Once the potatoes are boiled through, remove them from the water and mash them—if you don't have a potato masher, a fork will do! It's important that the potatoes are hot when you mash them and work them. 
3. Place the mashed potatoes onto a wooden surface you've dusted with flour, add the egg yolk and mix well. 
4. Start adding flour, little by little, and kneading the dough. Your aim is to achieve a compact but soft dough (the less flour you can add, the better!) 
5. Cut sections off the dough, roll it out into a long breadstick-looking shape and cut individual squared using a sharp knife. 
6. Bring a pot of water to boil and add rock salt. 
7. In a bowl, grate the Pecorino and Parmigiano (about 1 or 2 teaspoons of each p.p.) and grid a good amount of pepper. Using a ladle take some of the boiling water and place it in the bowl, mixing vigorously with a fork. The cheese, pepper and water mix should not be too runny nor too solid—adjust by adding more cheese if it is too watery and more water if it is too solid. 
8. Place the desired quantity of gnocchi in the boiling water and let them cook for a short amount of time, until they float, tasting one before you remove them all. I cooked mine for not even 2 mins!
9. Drain the gnocchi with a slotted spoon, keeping some of the water they cooked in on the side, and place the gnocchi in the bowl with the cheese mix, toss them for a few minutes so that they're all coated well and serve. 

NOTE: taste the cheese, pepper, water mix before adding the gnocchi because it might be too salty depending on what Pecorino you're using!.