Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius using the top and bottom element mode.

Make a few slits with a knife in the potatoes and bake them whole for 45 minutes or until soft inside. Peel the skins off when cool enough to do so. Mash potatoes in a large bowl until completely smooth.

Once the potatoes are just warm then season with salt. Use your fingers to mix the egg into the potato. Add flour a little at a time. Gently mix together until the dough takes form and can be rolled into a ball on a flour dusted bench top without sticking to your fingers. Wrap the ball in plastic and rest for 20 minutes on the bench whilst boiling a large pot of water.

In the meantime, fry the bacon with rosemary in olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Once the bacon is half cooked, set aside for later.

On the dusted bench top, divide the dough into 4 balls then roll each ball out into a 3cm thick log. If the dough becomes sticky then add a little more flour. With a sharp knife cut the log into 3-4 cm pieces. Give them a light dusting of flour.

As the water boils put half the gnocchi in and boil for a minute or so until they start to float. Scoop them out immediately with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate. Keep them separated so they don’t clump together. Cook the rest of the gnocchi the same way.

Add the butter to the bacon pan and once the pan is sizzling on a medium heat add all the gnocchi without dripping water into the pan. Leave the gnocchi to sauté on one side for a couple of minutes to form a crust and become golden before turning them over. Add more butter if necessary. Once the gnocchi is close to done, add the spinach and let it wilt. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan.

Tips – It is important to make gnocchi with starchy potatoes such as Imperial Blue. – Make gnocchi whilst the potato is warm but not hot. – Use only as much flour as needed to bring the dough together. – Work the dough minimally to prevent rubbery gnocchi.