Loaded baked potatoes. For those that love them, they are the best kind. Fluffy baked potato, bacon, garlic, cheese and sour cream…how can you go wrong? Now take all those noms and imagine it as gnocchi. Little individual dumplings of loaded baked potato heaven, covered in our whiskey bacon cheese sauce and sprinkled with our bacon breading. Go get a towel…you’re drooling.
If you’ve ever made gnocchi, you know it can be a bit of a chore. The nice thing is you can freeze/refrigerate these little dumplings. So if you make a big batch once a month, you’ll always have some around!
Technically you can make gnocchi with out a ricer, but I find it really hard to get the potatoes to the right constancy. Plus part of the fun is getting your hands caught up in those stringy curls of potatoes. Nowadays you can find them fairly cheap in department stores and if it’s your cup of tea, check out a few thrift shops. I bet you can find one for less than $20.
One thing to note is the amount of flour. Gnocchi is one of those dishes that no matter how many times you make it, the perfect amount of flour is never the same. Start with too little and add as needed. No one likes doughy pasta…no one.
Also, this is loaded bacon gnocchi, so you’re adding a lot of different ingredients to the mix and that can also get a little tricky. Trust that a little will go a long way in this dish, and that all those flavors will shine through.
The first time you bite in and get the tang of sour cream, saltiness and crunch of the bacon, and the warmth of the garlic…you’ll be rolling up your sleeves to make these all the time!
Prep Time: 1 hour, 0 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 70-80
- 2 lbs peeled and cubed potatoes
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups of flour
- 5 strips thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup grated cheese
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp pepper
- Flour for work surface
Boil potatoes in heavily salted water until barely fork tender. 10-15 minutes. You don't want them to get to the point of mashed potatoes. Drain potatoes and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. While potatoes cool, cook bacon until desired crispiness, mince garlic and grate cheese. Place 1 1/2 cups of flour on clean dry surface and made a bowl in the middle of it. Using a ricer, press potatoes through into center of flour bowl. Add the egg, garlic, sour cream, cheese and pepper. Using a fork, begin slowly mixing the inside of bowl and slowly bring in the sides. Once incorporated enough to handle, use your hands to begin making a ball. If the ball is sticky and not dough like, begin incorporating the remaining cup of flour. Once you had a dough ball, separate into 6 pieces. Take each piece and add some bacon to it and make a small ball. Roll out into a 1 inch rod on your surface (using extra flour as needed). Take your rod and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. (if you're not going to cook them immediately, you can refridgerate for a day or two or freeze in individual layers until ready to cook) Once done with all the gnocchi, In a pot of salted and oiled boiling water, add them about 10 -15 at a time. Cook until the whole batch is floating, about 4-6 minutes. When done, take them out and drain them off. Toss with sauce of your choice and serve immediately.