Gnocchi and sausage meat

Gnocchi are various thick, small, and soft dough dumplings^. The dough for gnocchi is most often rolled out before it is cut into small pieces about the size of a wine cork. The little dumplings are then pressed with a fork or a cheese grater to make ridges that can hold sauce. Alternatively, they are simply cut into little lumps. Gnocchi are usually eaten as a replacement for pasta in the first course, but they can also be served as a contorno (side dish) to some main courses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you need:

• 4 medium potatoes
• 200g salt
• 75g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 50g freshly grated parmesan
• 1 egg yolk
• salt and pepper
• knob of butter
• 30g breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 pork and/or beef  sausages
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 200ml vegetable stock
• 100g peas
• 1 tbsp cream
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp parsley
• ½ romaine lettuce
• fresh grating of parmesan, to serve
• 1 lemon, zest only, finely grated 

How to prepare it:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Lightly score or prick the potatoes. Spread out the salt on a baking tray to make a bed of salt and sit the potatoes on top. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, or until tender.
3. Allow the potatoes to cool a bit. Cut in half and spoon the cooked potato out of the skins.
4. Finely mash the potato. Add the flour, parmesan and egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Keep mixing until the potato forms a dough.
5. Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into four. Roll each quarter into a sausage shape about 20cm long and cut into 2cm pieces. Shake off any excess flour.
6. Melt the butter in a frying pan and lightly fry the breadcrumbs until golden-brown. Tip into a small bowl and set aside.
7. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the same frying pan and fry the gnocchi in batches until golden-brown on all sides. Remove from the pan, set aside and keep warm until all the gnocchi is fried.
8. Remove the skins from the sausages, break up the sausagemeat and fry with a little oil for four minutes, then add the onion and fry for a further three minutes until it is all golden-brown. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
9. Add the stock, peas, cream, capers and parsley. Bubble over a high heat to reduce the volume of liquid slightly and thicken the sauce. Finally add the fried gnocchi and warm through in the sauce for a minute or two.
10. To serve, divide the lettuce between four plates or bowls, serve the gnocchi on top, scatter with the fried breadcrumbs, grated parmesan and finely grated lemon zest.