Potato gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce

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Russell Brown's sumptuous gnocchi with tomato sauce recipe offers sunshine on a plate, serving classic Italian flavours of mozzarella, basil and tomato for an exquisitely summery dish. If cooking for a special occasion, make the sauce the day before serving and dry out the excess tomato skins from step 4 in a 90°C oven overnight - this will add an intensely flavoured garnish to add an extra touch of glamour to the dish.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Gnocchi

Tomato sauce

To serve

Equipment

  • Heavy based pan
  • Potato ricer
  • Blender
  • Fine strainer

Method

1
To start the dish, make the gnocchi. Use a steam oven or traditional steamer to cook the whole potatoes until tender. Depending on the size of the potato, this should take between 45-75 minutes
2
While the potatoes are steaming, make the sauce. Wash and halve the baby plum tomatoes and warm the olive oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and allow to stew gently, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have broken down completely - this will take 45-60 minutes
3
Pass the tomatoes through a sieve, pushing gently with the back of a ladle, then blitz the sauce with a hand blender to emulsify. Season to taste and set aside
4
When the potatoes are tender and while still warm, peel using a small sharp knife and pass the flesh through a potato ricer or mouli. Weigh out 200g of the potato and place on a clean work surface
5
Sift together the flour and salt, then sprinkle half over the potato. Drizzle over the egg yolk, then scatter over the remaining flour. Use a metal dough scraper to cut and mix the ingredients together, continually turning the mix over on itself. Make sure you do not over-mix, or the starches in the potato will cause the gnocchi to be rubbery
6
When the dough is evenly blended, knead briefly by hand before dividing into 4 portions. Wrap each portion in cling film to stop the mixture from drying out and forming a crust
7
Roll one of the dough portions out into a long sausage, measuring around 1.5cm in thickness. Cut into 1cm long pieces before rolling each piece into a ball. Form grooves onto each gnocchi using a grooved gnocchi board or the back of a large fork
8
Place the finished gnocchi onto a tray dusted with semolina to prevent sticking, then repeat this process with the remaining dough portions
  • 25g of fine semolina, for dusting
9
To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a heaped tablespoon of salt. Reduce to a simmer and add the gnocchi, stirring the water as you go. When the gnocchi floats to the surface, cook for 1 more minute before removing with a slotted spoon
10
Transfer the gnocchi into a hot pan with a good dash of olive oil and cook to achieve an evenly golden-brown finish. Gently reheat the sauce in a separate pan and stir in the gnocchi and spinach
  • extra virgin olive oil, preferably Arbequina
  • 30g of spinach, cooked
11
Shred the basil leaves, add to the gnocchi and season to taste. Divide the gnocchi between bowls, then add the mozzarella and toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately

Russell Brown has achieved Michelin stardom on his own terms, impressing inspectors with his honest, unfussy creations and sound approach to restaurant management.

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