This Asiago-stuffed potato gnocchi is such a luxurious dish, it’s the type of meal you want to serve to your company to totally impress them. Delicate potato gnocchi filled with rich Asiago cheese and topped with a decadent, but easy to make, truffle butter sauce. Who does like cheese wrapped in potatoes!?!? This is such a fun twist on the traditional Italian dumpling.
I will teach you the secret to making truffle-flavoured dishes, without spending a fortune on actual truffles, as well as the trick to making gnocchi without having to boil a potato. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
Why you’ll love this stuffed gnocchi recipe
- It tastes better than store-bought gnocchi
- It doesn’t take as long as you think to make because half the time is for resting the dough
- You can make a large batch and freeze it for an easy weeknight meal
- It’s absolutely delicious and a fun twist on traditional potato gnocchi!
Ingredients
For the gnocchi:
- Russet or Yukon gold potatoes
- ‘00’ flour or all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Semolina flour
- Asiago cheese
For the sauce:
- Butter
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Black truffle infused oil
- Dry white wine
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools you will need
- A digital kitchen scale (affiliate) that weighs in grams
- Gnocchi board (affiliate) – this tool is optional, but certainly makes life easier if you plan to make a lot of gnocchi. However, if you don’t have a gnocchi board (affiliate) you can still make this recipe using a fork or a cheese grater (affiliate)
- Potato ricer – this tool is also optional, but a potato ricer does make it easier to make the gnocchi. So if you absolutely fall in love with homemade potato gnocchi, then I would recommend investing in one.
- Large bowl
- Bench scraper or sharp knife
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Large pot
- Large saute pan
Instructions
Make the gnocchi dough:
You are going to start by cooking the potatoes in the microwave. Crazy right? I know this is not the traditional way to make gnocchi because back in the day microwaves did not exist, but it is a little trick I picked up. Cooking the potato in the microwave helps control the amount of moisture in the potatoes and will help you get the right consistency when you mix the dough.
So weigh your potatoes and poke a few holes in them with a fork or knife so that the steam can escape and throw them in the microwave for 10 minutes, or until you can easily stick a knife all the way through then. Leave the peels on!
Remove the potatoes from the microwave and allow them to cool before handling. I cut them in half to speed up the process.
Once they are cool, peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces that will fit in the potato ricer and rice them into a large bowl. The peels should just come right off with your hands. If you do not have a ricer you can use a cheese grater (affiliate) to get the desired small pieces or simply try mashing the potatoes up with a fork.
Weigh the flour and salt and add it to the same large bowl as the potatoes. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to start mixing the dough together. When it has just come together, flip it onto a clean, floured work surface and knead a few times until the dough becomes smooth. Do not overwork the dough!
If the dough is feeling really sticky or like it won’t hold its shape add a little bit more flour about a tablespoon at a time. You are looking for the consistency of play dough, because you will have to shape it into balls shortly.
If the dough is feeling very dry and crumbly, add a little bit of water one teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Shape the gnocchi:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it with semolina flour. Cut the Asiago cheese into rectangles, about ½ inch by ¼ inch. I like them to be rectangular so that the gnocchi can be shaped into a flat oval shape rather than a round ball. I find this will make them a bit easy to cook through, and I just like the way it looks.
Once the dough is finished resting, cut a 2-inch slice off the ball of dough and begin to roll it into a log about a ½ inch in diameter. Use the bench scraper or knife to cut the log into little 2-inch pieces that look like little rectangular pillows.
Set them aside and repeat this process with the rest of the dough ball. Make sure you cover the dough while you are not using it.
Now, take each piece of dough and push a cheese cube into it and then shape the dough in a flat ball around the cheese.
Roll the oval ball across the gnocchi board to create the ridges.
Add to the baking sheet and repeat this with the rest of the gnocchi. Ensure the gnocchi are not touching each other as you add them to the baking sheet.
Cook the gnocchi:
You can choose to boil the gnocchi, but I believe the best way to cook this gnocchi is to be pan-fried. The gnocchi will only take about 6-8 minutes to cook and the sauce takes less than that, so get started on the gnocchi first.
Heat a large pan with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the gnocchi and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip them over and allow the other side to cook for about 4 minutes. You are looking for a slightly crispy, golden-brown outside.
Air Fryer Method. You can also try cooking the gnocchi in the air fryer if you have one. Just coat the gnocchi in a small amount of oil before you put it in the air fryer. Using olive oil spray will help you get a light coating. Cook at 375 degrees F and cook for about 8 minutes, flipping the gnocchi halfway through.
Cook the truffle butter sauce:
Truffles can be extremely expensive and also very difficult to find at your local grocery store. So here is the trick to getting delicious truffle flavour, without killing your budget. Use truffle-infused oil. You could also use a truffle paste, which I prefer to add to a creamy sauce. For a light sauce, using truffle oil works perfectly.
While the gnocchi is cooking, get started on the sauce. Using a deep saute pan, add the butter and oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Cook until the butter start bubbling, then add the finely minced shallots and cook until translucent, or about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook until aromatic, or about 30 seconds. Add the white wine and cook down for another 1-2 minutes so the alcohol evaporates.
Now you are ready to add the gnocchi into the pan and toss so that they are coated in the sauce.
Serve immediately and enjoy with a pinch of parm!
Top Tip
Cooking your potatoes in the microwave or the oven will help the potato gnocchi stay fluffy and light!
A little bit about Asiago Cheese
Asiago is a hard, slightly crumbly cheese that originally comes from a region in Northern Italy. It has a Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), meaning that it must be produced in a specific geographical area and follow traditional methods of production to be considered Asiago. You can find both young (Asiago Pressato) and aged (Asiago d’allevo) variations, with the former being milder in flavor and smoother in texture and the latter having a stronger, nuttier flavor and a more crumbly, dry texture. It has a light yellow texture and small irregular holes throughout.
Asiago is excellent for grating over pasta, risotto or other dishes. You can also find it baked into breads, on a charcuterie board enjoyed with jams and fruit or made into dips.
Substitutions
- Asiago cheese – if you don’t have an asiago cheese, you can replace it with another cheese that will melt well, like mozzarella or fontina.
- Truffle oil – white truffle oil will work in place of black truffle oil, it will have a lighter, less earthy flavor than black truffles. You can also choose to omit the truffle oil and just have a simple butter sauce.
- Truffle oil sauce – there are many sauces that would taste great with this stuffed gnocchi. My recommendation is to go with a light, simple sauce so that you don’t overpower the asiago. A brown butter sage sauce or very light tomato sauce would be delicious.
Storage
Uncooked gnocchi can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours. O if you’re planning a dinner party and you want to get a head start the day before gor for it! Uncooked gnocchi can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Once the gnocchi is cooked, I recommend serving it immediately. However, if you do happen to have leftovers (unlikely with how good this dish is 😂) you should probably eat them the very next day. You can melt some butter in the pan to loosen up the sauce, or you could try putting the gnocchi back in the air fryer to get it nice and crispy.
FAQ
It’s better to bake potatoes for gnocchi because it keeps the potatoes dry, which requires less flour and helps create light and fluffy gnocchi. Alternatively, you could use the microwave to cook the potatoes. This saves you from having to heat up the oven and is much faster.
Asiago cheese that has not been aged for a long time melts very nicely, especially when grated finely. It is often used in sauces to create a creamy, gooey texture. Asiago cheese that has been aged may be a little bit harder to melt because it tends to be dry.
Wine pairings
This dish is luxurious and somewhat delicate, with a slightly earthy flavor from the truffles and a bit of a nutty flavor from the Asiago cheese. If you are looking for a white wine, I would suggest full-bodied white, like a Chardonnay or a Sémillon with a very smooth-silky mouth-feel that matches the creaminess of the butter and cheese.
If you’re more of a red person I would suggest something light-bodied, like a Pinot Noir with a bit of an earthy flavor, so you don’t overpower the meal. Here are a few suggestions:
- Mer Soleil Reserve Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, USA
- Quail’s Gate Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, Canada
- Tim Adams, Semillon, Clare Valley, Australia
- Clos du Soleil Capella, British Columbia, Canada
- MacMurray Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, USA
- See Ya Later Ranch Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, Canada
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this asiago stuffed potato gnocchi:
Asiago Stuffed Gnocchi in Truffle Oil Sauce
Equipment
- Kitchen scale (affiliate) that weighs in grams
- Gnocchi board – if you don’t have this you can still make this recipe using a fork or a cheese grater
- Potato ricer – this tool certainly makes it easier to make the gnocchi, but is not absolutely necessary
- Large Bowl
- Bench scraper or sharp knife
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Large pot
- Large saute pan
Ingredients
For the gnocchi
- 800 g russet or Yukon gold potatoes
- 150 g ‘00’ flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- Semolina flour for dusting
- 100 g Asiago cheese
For the truffle oil sauce:
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tbsp black truffle oil
- 1 small shallot very finely minced
- 1 cloves garlic very finely minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the gnocchi dough:
- Poke holes in the potatoes with a fork or knife so that the steam can escape and throw them in the microwave for10 minutes, or until you can easily stick a knife all the way through then. Leave the peels on! Allow them to cool before handling.
- Once they are cool, peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces that will fit in the potato ricer and rice them into a large bowl. If you do not have a ricer you can use a cheese grater to get the desired small pieces or simply try mashing the potatoes up with a fork.
- Weigh the flour and salt and add them to the large bowl. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to start mixing the dough together. When it has just come together, flip it onto a clean, floured work surface and knead a few times until the dough becomes smooth.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it with semolina flour.
- Cut the Asiago cheese into rectangles, about ½ inch by ¼ inch. I like them to be rectangular so that the gnocchi can be shaped into a flat oval shape rather than a round ball. I find this will make them a bit easy to cook through.
Shape and stuff the gnocchi:
- Once the dough is finished resting, cut a 2-inch slice off the ball of dough and begin to roll it into a log about a ½ inch in diameter. Use the bench scraper or knife to cut the log into little 1-inch pieces that look like little pillows. Set them aside and repeat this process with the rest of the dough ball. Make sure you cover the dough while you are not using it.
- Take each piece of dough and push a cheese rectangle into it, shaping the dough into an oval around the cheese. Then roll the oval ball across the gnocchi board to make the ridges. Add to the baking sheet and repeat this with the rest of the gnocchi. Ensure the gnocchi are not touching each other as you add them to the baking sheet.
Cook the gnocchi:
- The gnocchi will only take about 6-8 minutes to cook and the sauce takes less than that, so get started on the gnocchi first and start the sauce right when you’ve added the gnocchi to the pan.
- Heat a large pan with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the gnocchi and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip them over and allow the other side to cook for about 4 minutes. You are looking for a slightly crispy, golden-brown outside.
Cook the truffle butter sauce:
- While the gnocchi is cooking, get started on the sauce. Using a deep saute pan, add the butter and oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Cook until the butter starts bubbling.
- Add the finely minced shallots and cook until translucent, or about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, or about 30 seconds.
- Add the white wine and cook down for another 1-2 minutes so the alcohol evaporates.
- Add the cooked gnocchi into the pan and toss so that they are coated in the sauce.
- Serve immediately and enjoy with a pinch of parm!
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