Potato Gnocchi and Mushroom Ragu

Let's enjoy cooking !!
 

For 4 people

For the gnocchi :

Ingredients :

1kg Russet potatoes – washed but not peeled, then pricked with a fork

250g plain, unbleached flour

Rock salt for cooking potato

Method:

1. Prick all the potatoes with a fork then lay them out on a tray of rock salt in an oven on 180’C
2. Bake them in the oven till the flesh of the potato is soft and the outside is crispy- they should look like a well roasted potato and should take about 45 minutes to cook
3. Take out of the oven, allow to cool for a couple of minutes so they can be picked up. Cut in half lengthways and scoop out flesh, pass through a mouli or a hand potato masher. Then place on a lightly floured bench and add most of the flour to the potato and kneed to a smooth dough
4. stop adding flour when the mixture has become soft and smooth, you may need to add a little extra, but be sure not to knead the gnocchi dough for too long as this will result in “too firm” gnocchi pieces
5. Form the gnocchi dough into a large log, then roll out into smaller logs with a diameter of a 20c piece, then cut every 4 to 5cm along the rolled log as this will make the gnocchi “pillows”, chill on a lightly floured tray in the fridge for 1 hour before cooking
6. to cook , bring a pot of well salted water to the boil and make a whirlpool then drop the gnocchi pieces in and wait till they float to the surface then gently spoon out and coat in olive oil and lay on a tray. The gnocchi pieces will only take about 2 to 3 minutes to float. If you are not eating the gnocchi straight away – you can leave the blanched gnocchi pieces in the fridge then add them to the hot ragu when it is ready.

For the pine mushroom ragu:

Ingredients :

1.5 kg trimmed and sliced assorted field mushrooms – remember to brush the dirt off with a dry cloth or a dry pastry brush

6 red shallots finely sliced

8 garlic clove finely sliced

10 sprigs of thyme, leaves only

¼  bunch of oregano, leaves picked and rough chopped

1 small red chilli cut in half lenthways

350ml white wine

1L white chicken stock

150g unsalted butter

80g grated grana padano parmesan

80ml extra virgin olive oil

Seasoning

½ bunch basil leaves picked for garnish

1 handful of rocket leaves for garnish

Method :

1. in a large shallow saucepan sweat the shallots and garlic in a half of the  butter and all of the extra virgin olive oil until very soft
2. add the herbs, chilli and the rest of the butter and increase heat and stir on high heat for about 5 minutes
3. Now add the mushrooms and to the pan and stir for 5 to 10 minutes to get even heat and coating of all the mushrooms
4. add the white wine and reduce the liquid by half
5. add the chicken stock and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until the ragu has a sauce consistency
6. stir in the grated parmesan last and season with salt and pepper

To serve:

Heat the ragu in a heavy based large fry pan, add the just cooked gnocchi pieces and simmer for about 3 minutes to ensure the gnocchi pieces are hot then spoon the into serving bowls, garnish with the picked basil leaves and rocket leaves,then eat immediately! I like to have some extra grated parmesan on the table for those that like more cheese.