Experience the rustic perfection of Smoky Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce! Chef Tom takes his made from scratch Gnocchi by smoking the potatoes first on the Yoder Smokers YS480s. Imagine a pan of potato pillows soaking up a homemade vodka sauce. Sprinkle it with some parmesan and watch your date’s eye twinkle over this elegant date night meal.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Smoked potatoes, not just boiled. Cooking the potatoes whole on the grill before ricing them builds a subtle smoky base into the gnocchi itself, not just the sauce.
- Riced, not mashed. Pushing the potato flesh through a ricer keeps the texture light and fluffy, which is what keeps the finished gnocchi from turning dense or gummy.
- Vodka off the heat, on purpose. The sauce comes off the burner before the vodka goes in, so the alcohol cooks off cleanly without scorching the sauce.
- Pan-fried, not just boiled. Browning the boiled gnocchi in butter before tossing it in the sauce adds a golden, slightly crisp edge you don't get from a straight boil-and-sauce approach.
Smoky Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 2 users
Category
Veggies
Cuisine
Italian
Servings
6
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Calories
439
The star of this recipe this Smoky Gnocchi is Chef Tom’s made from scratch Gnocchi, starring a homemade sauce. The secret to the fluffy potato pillows of goodness is a hint of hickory smoke. Then they soak in a pan of San Marzano tomatoes fresh basil vodka and heavy cream for a show-stopper kind of meal.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Yukon gold potatoes
-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-
2 tbsp + 1 tsp Noble Saltworks Cherrywood Smoked Salt, divided
- 2 each egg yolks
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated for garnish
-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup sweet red pepper, minced
-
2 tsp Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning
- 1 tbsp garlic, grated on microplane
- 1 each (29 oz) can Ciao San Marzano Tomatoes
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
-
Noble Saltworks Cherrywood Smoked Salt, to taste
Gnocchi
Vodka Sauce:
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet Grill to 325ºF set up for indirect grilling/smoking (diffuser plate in place). Fill an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker with wood pellets. Place on the main cooking grate and ignite the pellets using a torch. When the pellets are well lit, blow out the flame.
Place your potatoes in a bowl and coat in about two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season with about two tablespoons Noble Saltworks Hickory Smoked Salt.
- Transfer potatoes to the second shelf of the grill and cook until tender, about 90 minutes.
- Scoop the flesh from the potato skins. Push the flesh of the potatoes through a ricer and into a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Begin sprinkling flour over the potatoes and mixing. Add two tablespoons melted butter, two yolks and one teaspoon smoked salt. Continue adding flour and mixing until nearly all flour is incorporated and a dough ball is formed. Save some flour for your work surface. Divide the dough ball into four equal pieces, then roll each piece out into a long cylinder shape about 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut into 1 1/2 inch long dumplings. Lay them out on a sheet pan.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the gnocchi in batches, so as not to overcrowd. When the gnocchi floats to the top after 2-3 minutes it is done. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon. Transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. After a few minutes the gnocchi can be removed from the ice bath and transferred to a towel to dry.
- Remove the diffuser door (or entire diffuser) and place a Lodge 12” Cast Iron Skillet over the flame to preheat for a few minutes. Increase the grill temperature setting to 400ºF.
To make the vodka sauce, add the extra virgin olive oil to the skillet. Add the shallot and pepper and Cattleman’s Grill Italiano. Cook until shallots begin to brown at the edges. Add the garlic. Cook about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and basil smash the tomatoes into small pieces with a hand masher. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for a few minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the vodka. Return to heat to cook off the alcohol. Add the heavy cream and stir. Taste and season with smoked salt, as needed. Cover the skillet with a lid and set aside to keep warm.
- Add about two tablespoons of butter to a Lodge 12” Steel Skillet over medium heat. Let the butter begin to brown, then add about half of your gnocchi to the skillet. Cook until gold brown on both sides. Transfer the toasted gnocchi to the skillet of vodka sauce and repeat until all gnocchi is fried.
- Mix the smoky gnocchi and vodka sauce and serve topped with parmesan and basil.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why smoke the potatoes instead of just boiling them?
Smoking the potatoes whole on the grill builds a subtle wood flavor all the way through the flesh before they're ever riced into dough — a flavor a plain boil can't replicate.
What is the ice bath for?
After boiling, the gnocchi go into an ice bath to stop the cooking immediately. This keeps them from turning mushy while they wait to be pan-fried later in the recipe.
Can I make the gnocchi ahead of time?
Yes — boil and ice-bath the gnocchi as directed, then refrigerate or freeze them before the pan-fry step. Fry straight from cold when you're ready to serve.
Why add the vodka off the heat?
Pulling the skillet off the burner before adding the vodka, then returning it to heat, gives you more control over cooking off the alcohol without the sauce boiling over or scorching.
Can I skip the smoked salt if I don't have it?
Regular kosher salt will still work fine — you'll just lose some of the extra wood-smoke depth the smoked salt adds on top of the smoked potatoes themselves.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — works indoors with adjustments, but the grill is recommended. The dough-making, boiling, and sauce steps are all standard kitchen work; it's specifically the smoked-potato step that benefits from an actual grill or smoker.
Recipe Highlights
Whole potatoes smoked before ricing: Direction Steps 1–3 smoke the potatoes on the grill for about 90 minutes before they're ever riced — that step is where the "smoky" in this recipe's name actually comes from.
Riced, not mashed, for a lighter dough: Step 4 pushes the potato flesh through a ricer rather than mashing it, which keeps the gnocchi dough light instead of dense.
Ice bath locks in the right texture: Step 6 shocks the boiled gnocchi in an ice bath the moment they float, stopping the cooking so they hold their shape through the pan-fry step later.
Pan-fried in butter before saucing: Step 10 browns the boiled gnocchi in butter first, then transfers them straight into the vodka sauce — that browning step is what gives the finished dish its slightly crisp edge.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 5 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 439
- Fat
- 25 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 10 grams
- Cholesterol
- 110 milligrams
- Sodium
- 1567 milligrams
- Carbs
- 41 grams
- Fiber
- 3 grams
- Sugar
- 4 grams
- Protein
- 8 grams
