Gnocchi - as in Knocky knocky, who's there?

Ok, I admit, that was pretty feeble. However, no-one seems quite certain how to pronounce the word, so the dictionary version it is - knocky:)
I love eating Gnocchi, with tomato sauce, with 3 cheese sauce, with sage and thyme butter. What I don't love is that somehow I and my entire counter are covered in flour after. So yes, the making is a bit messy, but once ready it cooks in no time at all, and provided you have sauce ready, it goes from raw to table in 5 minutes flat. Parmesan cheese, white wine, good company...I'll have the violins strumming next.
I highly recommend you try this, despite the bit of mess. I have it down to a fine art and work on 2 of those soft, flexible "bread" boards, then the flour gets whisked away pronto. The 3 cheese version pictured above is a wonderful dinner party meal.

                                                              Gnocchi

Serves 2 VERY hungry  souls

Bake or boil 4 medium/large potatoes

(Classically you bake for very dry potato, but inevitably I boil!!)

Peel and mash very well or use a potato ricer if you have one ( its fun, everything turns to worms!!)

Using a knife stir in:

1 Egg

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup flour – you can use home ground wholewheat, semolina, rice,potato or white or brown flour, depends on your health feelings.

Stir together, if dough is still very sticky add more flour

Boil a large pot of water; as for pasta, with salt in.

Sprinkle surface generously with flour

(I use a bread board, it makes cleaning up much quicker)

Halve gnocchi dough and pat half out on flour into rectangle about 1 cm thick, who cares really, just not too flat

Sprinkle more flour, slice into 1 cm wide strips, sprinkle again, turn, slice into 1 cm cubes.

Toss around in flour, shake some excess off and  then into water, mind the splashing.

Repeat with other half.

As gnocchi rises to the surface of the boiling water, scoop out with slotted spoon and put into sauce or into bowls if baking with sauce.

Only needs about 1 minute to cook.

SAUCES:

Basic tomato sauce:

Peel and chop 6 largish tomato's

peel and slice 1 clove garlic

 Heat 1 T olive oil in small pot, lightly fry garlic then add tomato, stir till starts bubbling, turn heat down and leave to simmer at least 30 min, stir occasionally. Season well. Stir in some fresh basil just prior to serving

OR

Fry 125g butter with at least 10 sage leaves till slightly brown and the sage is crisp, toss gnocchi in and sprinkle Parmesan

OR

Gnocchi in bowl, sprinkle over 80g each  cheddar, blue cheese, Parmesan

Pour over 125ml cream and bake 20 min 180C

You can do this in separate ramekins, but you may need a bit more cream and cheese.

OR

Fry a generous amount of mushrooms, season well, add 1/2 a cup of white wine, reduce rapidly, add 1 cup cream, reduce and thicken slightly, pour over gnocchi, add gorgonzola cheese to taste and bake 20 min 180C

Try green beans lightly steamed one min, then tossed in T olive oil and 1/2 tsp mustard, and a green salad, and some crusty bread for all the delicious sauce.

I do realise the cheese option is either expensive or unhealthy for some, so.... I promise the tomato option is cheap and utterly good and one of my all time  favourites.