Gnocchi

Sieve the flour, add a pinch of pepper and set aside.  Put the water in a large saucepan and bring it to the boil with a little coarse salt. As soon as the water comes to the boil, turn the heat down to the minimum, add all the flour and stir with a wooden spatula until it comes away from the sides of the pan in a ball.

Transfer the dough to a pastry board or work surface and knead it for a few minutes while it is still very hot to make it smooth and eliminate any lumps – even if the dough burns you a little, it is a necessary step and just takes a minute.   

Leave the dough for about 30 minutes to cool (if you are short of time, after a few minutes you can cut the dough into 2 cm slices so it cools much more quickly).

Then make small sticks from the dough and cut them into small pieces, press a finger to indent each one or roll them over the back of a fork to make the typical ridges on the gnocchi.  As each is finished, place it on a clean, well-floured tea towel and leave to dry a little.

Continue until all the dough is finished.

To cook the gnocchi:

Gnocchi need very little time to cook. Put plenty of salted water to boil, and once it comes to the boil, add the gnocchi. Stir a couple of times and once the gnocchi rise to the top, remove them with a skimmer. Serve with a sauce of your choice.