It might be wintry outside but it’s mighty hard to forget the summer. I’ve been invited to create a “winter-warmer” recipe using Good Natured’s Splendid Spuds so here it is, with a side serving of summer.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Potato gnocchi:
450g potatoes (supplied by Good Natured)
100g plain flour
1 egg yolk
100g Parmesan
Tomato salad:
180g baby plum tomatoes
Dressing: (to taste but…)
½ shallot
1tsp capers
80ml basil oil
20ml white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Basil oil:
300ml olive oil
bunch of basil
To serve:
a length of chorizo
baby basil leaves for garnish
grated Parmesan
Method:
To make the gnocchi:
- Pierce the potatoes several times with a skewer before baking them at 200ºC until cooked – approximately an hour depending on size.
- Halve the potatoes and scoop out the middle then pass it through a ricer or use a potato masher.
- Mix the mashed potato with the flour, egg yolk and Parmesan and knead lightly into a dough.
- Work in sections, roll the dough to tubes the thickness of a sausage and cut with a floured knife at 1.5cm intervals. Shape if desired.
- Dress the gnocchi in semolina to prevent them sticking until you’re ready to cook.
To make the basil oil:
- Heat and warm the olive oil and the picked basil but don’t cook it.
- Allow to cool slightly before blending to smooth.
- Filter the oil if desired.
To make the tomato salad:
- Make the dressing first – finely slice the shallot and add to the other ingredients to emulsify. Add salt and pepper last to adjust for taste.
- Quarter the tomatoes before dressing.
To serve:
- Cook the gnocchi in boiling water like pasta – they are ready when they float to the surface.
- Drain cooked gnocchi and coat with the basil oil to prevent sticking.
- Cut the chorizo into coin-sized medallions before frying with the cooked gnocchi.
- When both the chorizo and the gnocchi are crispy, you’re ready to plate up.
To plate up:
- Brush basil oil down the middle of the warm plate.
- Place the gnocchi and chorizo on one side and tomato salad on the other.
- Garnish with baby basil leaves and grated Parmesan.
