Wash the potatoes and leave them with their peels on. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the potatoes for approximately 35 to 45 minutes for large potatoes.

Drain the potatoes and let them cool until they are cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Using a potato masher or potato rice, mash the potatoes until there are no lumps (or as few as possible). Cool the mashed potatoes to room temperature.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the egg yolks and olive oil to the mashed potatoes and stir until combined. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the potatoes and carefully mix them together until the flour is moistened and the dough looks crumbly.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead the dough for about one minutes. You don’t want to over-knead the dough otherwise your gnocchi will be tough. The dough should feel soft and smooth. If it’s sticky you can add a little more flour, but any extra flour you add may make your gnocchi heavy and dense. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover it with a clean dish towel.

Wipe off the work surface and let it dry. Lightly coat it with flour. Grab about a lemon-sized amount of the dough and roll it into a rope approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter. Cut the rope into bite-sized pieces. Make indentations on each piece of gnocchi by rolling them across the tines of a fork. Or leave them smooth. Refer to the link in the notes section to learn more when to leave them plain or to indent them.

Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet (they should not be touching). At this point they will keep at room temperature for two to three hours or you can freeze them in freezer bags for two months.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the gnocchi, 12 to 15 at a time, until they rise to the surface of the water. This only takes a couple of minutes. Scoop them out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl. Cover them with plastic wrap to keep them warm while you boil the rest. I served my gnocchi tossed in pesto sauce.