Gnocchi (English pronunciation: /ˈnɒki/, /ˈnjɒki/; Italian: [ˈɲɔkki], singular gnocco)
Easily got addicted to watching the Top Chef series. I feel hungry for anything new I can get my hands on to learn more about food, cooking it, tasting it and pairing it with wine. And yet I must admit to having some blond gene... I honestly thought "gnocchi" is pronounced different - imagine reading this in english "gnochi"... So imagine my surprise when watching Top Chef, already in the first season I kept on hearing about it and was puzzled how come I don't know what it was untill I saw how the actual "gnocchi" look like... Once again - very blond... And would have remained as such if my boyfriend didn't spell it for me so I could google it... Had them a number of times, made them myself and yet - such a simple discovery! Unbelievable...
And there was my intention - bring on the gnoCCHi... . Time to get them cooking with some fresh out of the forrest chanterelles.
Ingredients (enough to serve 4 people):
Gnocchi:
* 1 kg potatoes
* 3-4 tablespoons sour cream
* 1 large egg
* 6-8 tablsepoons all purpose flour
* Salt and fresh ground pepper
* A pinch of nutmeg
Sauce:
* Chanterelles
* 1 medium onion
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons butter
* A dash of worcestershire
* A few fresh basil leaves
Just looking at this makes my mouth water...
Back to preparation... Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, wash the potatoes, put them in a pan, sprinkle with some rock salt, cover with the foil and bake for about 40 minutes.
When they are done and cool enough to peel, get the skin off and grind them. Add the egg, sour cream, salt, fresh ground pepper and nutmeg. Mix the ingredients until well incorporated and knead the dough until smooth but still slightly sticky.
Take a lump of dough and roll out into a thick rope on a floured surface. Cut it into 1.5-2 cm pieces.
When the gnocchi is ready, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet heat the oil and melt the butter, slice the onion and cook until soft, add the chopped garlic. Stir for a few more minutes and add the fresh chanterelles. A lot of fluid will be discharged out of mushrooms - cook on low heat until it evaporates.
In the meantime, while waiting for the fluids to evaporate, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the gnocchi and cook until they float to the surface and cook 2 more minutes - carefully scoop them out on the plate.
Coming back to our sauce - once most of the fluids are gone, add the heavy cream and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, some fresh ground pepper and salt to taste - a few more minutes and the food is ready to be plated. The few basil leaves - for decoration on top.
Enjoy! We did...
Bon appetit!
