- Pre-heat oven to 280C.
- Spread the rock salt over the base of a large baking tray. Put the potatoes on the salt in their skins and cook.
- When the potatoes are cooked all the way through take them out of the oven. You know they are cooked when you can push a skewer or knife right to the centre of the potato with ease.
- Allow the potatoes to cool a little and then use a knife to remove the skin.
- Mash the warm potatoes and mix in the egg, parmesan, nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Turn the potato out onto a lightly floured bench and start to gently knead the potato, gradually adding the flour until the mixture just comes together into dough.
- Clean the bench and dust with semolina flour.
- Divide the dough into equal fist sized pieces. Take one of the pieces and roll it into a tube about 20cm in length and about 2cm in height.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the tube into gnocchi, about 2cm cubed. Repeat for the rest of the dough dusting with semolina as you go. This will prevent the gnocchi from sticking to the bench.
- In a large pan melt the butter over a medium heat, as soon as the butter starts to foam add the sage and carefully jiggle the pan. As the butter starts to take on a nutty colour remove the pan from the heat. The sage should be lovely and crispy.
- Cook the gnocchi for just a few seconds in boiling salted water. I normally cook mine for about 10-20 seconds and then remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the pan with the butter (Beurre Noisette). Place the pan over a low heat and spoon the warm butter over the gnocchi until they become slightly crisp.
- Remove the pan from the heat and arrange the gnocchi between your plates, then drizzling the beurre noisette and crispy sage over the top of the gnocchi.
- Finish with freshly grated parmesan and cracked pepper and serve right away.
Notes:
This recipe uses less flour as it calls for baking the potatoes rather than boiling them. The natural starch in the potato helps bind the dough and means a much lighter, fluffier gnocchi.
It’s super important to use a starchy and not waxy potato (Tobie heads for russets or kipflers), and handle the gnocchi carefully while cooking – overloading the pan can result in mashed potato.
Serve with a Buerre Noissette as Tobie has here, or add your own luscious mushroom, meat ragu or simple fresh tomato sauce.
Comfort food perfection!
Credits:
Videography: AJR Films
Styling: The Domestic Scientist
