Gnocchi della Val Varaita

Val Varaita gnocchi are a typical Piedmontese dish, and the traditional recipe calls for simple but high-quality ingredients to achieve the best possible result. Here’s how they’re prepared:

Ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes
• 300 g 00 flour
• 1 egg
• Salt
• 200 g Castelmagno DOP cheese (or another blue cheese if unavailable)

Preparation

1. Start by boiling the potatoes unpeeled in lightly salted water. When cooked, drain them and let them cool just enough to handle, then peel them.
2. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork until you obtain a fine puree, avoiding lumps.
3. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and add the sifted flour, the egg, and a pinch of salt. Work the ingredients by hand until you have a soft, homogeneous dough.
4. On a floured work surface, take pieces of dough and roll them by hand into cylinders, then cut them into pieces to form the gnocchi.
5. Lightly press each gnocco with a fork or your finger to create the typical ridged shape that helps hold the sauce.
6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and, once boiling, cook the gnocchi. When they float to the surface, wait one more minute, then drain them with a slotted spoon.
7. In a pan, melt the Castelmagno cheese with a little of the gnocchi cooking water until you have a creamy sauce.
8. Add the gnocchi to the pan with the Castelmagno sauce and toss for a few minutes to coat and flavor them.

Serve the Val Varaita gnocchi hot, optionally sprinkled with more grated Castelmagno and a little black pepper if desired.

Curiosities

Castelmagno DOP cheese is a blue-veined cheese typical of Piedmont and takes its name from the town of Castelmagno. It is highly prized for its creamy texture and intense, slightly spicy flavor, making it ideal for seasoning hearty dishes like these gnocchi.