This homemade gnocchi ‘eats like magic’ - Toronto Star

Every Saturday, Chef Mark McEwan, one of Canada’s most celebrated chefs, serves up everything you need for a special weekend meal, including a recipe and expert at-home cooking tips.

Great gnocchi starts with Yukon Gold potatoes, a good PEI product! Mushrooms with gorgonzola might seem a bit much, but it eats like magic. Chanterelle mushrooms are my favourite: I love the colour, the flavour, the texture. They also pan fry so beautifully and brown to an amazing golden colour. If you’re looking for substitutions, try other seasonal mushrooms — such as morels, lobster mushrooms and bluefoot — and any quality blue cheese, from Danish blue to Roquefort, would work nicely. I’d serve this with a tableside Caesar salad or a bright, fresh seafood crudo and a white, crisp wine to balance the dish’s richness.

Chef tips:

Once potatoes are cooked, cut lengthwise, open them up and put them back in the oven briefly to evaporate some of the moisture.

For the dough, a potato press or ricer will give you a consistent texture. Remember not to overwork the dough, which will make it tough.

The gnocchi can be used at once or kept covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. They also freeze well.

Fried Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and Woodland Mushrooms

Gnocchi

5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, about 2 lb (1 kg) total, scrubbed

1 tbsp (15 mL) salt

Pinch each of white pepper and nutmeg

1/4 cup (60 mL) Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

3 tbsp (45 mL) clarified butter

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 tsp (5 mL) jalapeno paste

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (140 mL) flour

Woodland mushrooms

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp (30 mL) onion, minced

8 oz (225 g) chanterelles (larger ones sliced)

1 tsp garlic, minced

Pinch each of salt and white pepper

2 tbsp (30 mL) white wine

1 tsp (5 mL) parsley, rosemary, and sage (combined, minced)

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Gorgonzola cream sauce

2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

1/4 cup (60 mL) onion, minced

2 tsp (10 mL) garlic, minced

1/2 cup (125 mL) white wine

2 cups (500 mL) 35% cream

Pinch each of salt and white pepper

2 oz (60 g) gorgonzola

1 tbsp chives, minced

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roast potatoes until cooked through, 50 to 60 minutes. Cut open halfway, squeeze to open slightly, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool briefly, then scoop out insides and pass through a ricer (or potato press) into bowl. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, Parmesan, 1 tbsp of clarified butter, garlic, jalapeno paste and egg. Mix well, lifting the mixture and then letting it fall through your fingers so that is aerated rather than compressed. Add a third of the flour and mix again in the same manner. Repeat until all flour is incorporated. Press the mixture together lightly. It should be just barely tacky to the touch — if sticky, incorporate a Iittle more flour. Set dough aside. Flour a work surface. Working in batches, roll dough into a log about ¾ inch (2 cm) in diameter. Flour a knife, trim end of log at an angle, and maintain that angle-cut roll into equal pieces of about 1 Inch (2.5 cm). Transfer gnocchi to a lightly floured baking sheet.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous boil. Add gnocchi; stir very gently to prevent sticking. As they float to the surface — after about 3 minutes — remove them with a slotted spoon to a lightly oiled baking sheet to cool.

Thoroughly heat two large non-stick skillets over medium heat and lubricate well with remaining clarified butter. Divide gnocchi evenly and fry until they brown on one side, then turn and repeat. Remove from heat and set aside, keeping warm.

Mushrooms

Gently clean mushrooms with a brush or a damp cloth. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter, and when it foams, add onions and mushrooms. When mushrooms begin to soften, stir in garlic. Season with salt and pepper. One minute later, deglaze with wine, add herbs. Remove from heat and cover loosely to keep warm.

Gorgonzola cream sauce

Heat oil in a deep saucepan and sauté the onions until they wilt, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook for a minute, then deglaze with wine. When liquid becomes syrupy, stir in cream. When it simmers, season lightly with salt and pepper, then crumble gorgonzola into sauce. Stir until cheese is incorporated, then add chives. Do not reduce.

Evenly distribute gnocchi among warm pasta bowls, clustering gnocchi at the centre. Pour the sauce around and over the gnocchi, but do not douse them. Mound the chanterelles carefully over the top, and garnish each bowl with a judicious sprinkling of chive oil and a light scattering of herbs. Serves 4.

Chef Mark McEwan is a Toronto-based chef, entrepreneur, mentor and writer of best-selling cookbooks. He is a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @chef_MarkMcEwan

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This homemade gnocchi ‘eats like magic’ - Toronto Star
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