1. Pick a potato based on its shape. Oval are best for baking and smashing, round for roasting and boiling, and longer ones for frying.
2. Always cook potatoes starting from cold water. This will heat them through and prevent them from crumbling.

3. Gnocchi dumplings are served as often as pasta in Italy and for good reason. It's super easy to make restaurant-quality gnocchi at home.

4. The trick to perfect gnocchi is to start with a cold potato. Mix dry ingredients first, then add the potato slowly. Fabio's perfect ratio of ingredients is 3 pounds of potatoes to 2 cups of flour to 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and a pinch of ground nutmeg.

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 lbs. russet potatoes, baked

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 ½ tsp. nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Bake the potatoes the night before and let them sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, overnight if possible.

Peel and chop the baked potatoes.

Push the potatoes through a ricer or a food mill.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes to the mixer and work for 5 minutes.

Remove the dough and shape into a fist sized ball. Press out any air bubbles. Roll into a tube and cut the gnocchi in about 1 inch pieces with a sharp knife.

Place the gnocchi in boiling water to cook. All the gnocchi is ready when the first pasta rises to the top of the boiling liquid.