POTATO GNOCCHI WITH MATSUTAKE AND BLACK TRUFFLE

Chef Emmanuel’s recipe harks back to his childhood years living in his grandparents’ house on Lake Iseo, Italy and feasting on his neighbour’s gnocchi.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

Russet potatoes: 1kg
Plain (all-purpose flour): 200g
Eggs :4
Rock salt: 2 tsp

Garnish
Fresh basil: 10g
Parsley: 10g
Vieux comte cheese, grated or thinly sliced: 50g

Sauce
Matsutake mushrooms (cleaned):  6 pieces
Olive oil: 50ml
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Vegetable stock: 75ml
Butter: 50g
Ground nutmeg: 1 tsp
Leek use only the white portion), finely sliced: 200g
Black truffle, shaved: 30g

METHOD

• Bake the potatoes in the oven at 175°C for 1 hour.
• Cut the baked potatoes into halves and spoon out the flesh of the potatoes. Press potatoes through a sieve to mash.
• Mix mash potatoes with flour, eggs and salt to form dough. Divide dough into four parts, then roll into long pieces, like sausages. Cut into 2-3cm lengths and use a fork to  make grooves in the gnocchi.
• Gnocchi can be made in advance. Just sprinkle some flour over them and set aside until you are ready to cook them. To cook the gnocchi, boil them or cook them in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. If you hacve made the gnocchi in advance, toss with a little bit of olive oil to refresh them if you would like, just as you would pre-cooked pasta.
• Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, slice the matsutake mushroom thinly. Take ½ the slices and sauté in a pan using very low heat for about 15 minutes with olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Bring the vegetable stock to the boil and add half the butter and nutmeg. Braise leek in this mixture for 15 minutes,
• Combine the cooked mushrooms and braised leek. Add remaining butter.

FINISHING

Pour sauce over gnocchi and arrange mushrooms and leek on top of gnocchi. Garnish with remaining raw matsutake, thinly sliced black truffles, fresh basil, parsley and Vieux Comte.

View the recipe in issue 03 of our
quarterly food and beverage e-magazine here: