PARISIAN GNOCCHI

I'm back mes ameis!

And this time I'm bringing you a recipe which is often associated with Italy, but is rather French! These delicious little pillows of goodness are similar to Italian style gnocchi, but don't call for potatoes - hence making the cooking process that much faster and easier!

The dough is essentially the same as pâte à choux (choux pastry) which is used for éclairs and profiteroles. However, you won't bake them in the oven, but cook them in salted boiling water, and then finishing off with a sear on a hot pan, making the exterior crispy. You can have them as is - in a delicious butter sauce topped with some Parmigiano Reggiano, or make it that much Italian with a fresh tomato sauce. Let's crack on with the recipe, shall we?

INGREDIENTS (serves 3, but if you're very hungry 2)

GNOCCHI :

230 ml water
50g unsalted butter (plus approx. 30g for the "sauce")
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
100g all purpose flour
3 eggs
40g Parmigiano Reggiano (plus a desired amount for the topping)
white pepper to taste

CHERRY TOMATO SAUCE (optional)

300g cherry tomatoes (use a mix of red, yellow and orange ones if you can find them as well)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
4-5 basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
100 ml water (approx.)
salt & pepper to taste

If you are making the sauce, start by preparing it first. Leave your tomatoes whole, or cut them in half to reduce the cooking time. Mince your garlic, and add it to a pan over medium heat with the tomatoes and olive oil. Season it with salt & pepper, and add your sugar.

Sugar is usually added to balance the acidity from the tomatoes. You don't need a lot, just a little sprinkle. Sauté your tomatoes for a couple of minutes and stir once in a while. When they've released their liquid, add in your water. By doing this, your are allowing them to cook out more. Once soft, bash them with the back of your spoon. Cook the sauce until the liquid starts to reduce, and add in your basil at the end. I also added a swirl of balsamic vinegar to intensity the flavours.

For the gnocchi, add your water and 50g of butter to a pan, and warm it up. Once the butter is almost melted, add your salt and freshly ground nutmeg. PLEASE don't buy it previously ground, since the aroma is different. Then, add in your flour and start to stir the mixture vigorously. You'll see it will forming in a dough ball really quickly. but continue on with the stirring. Stir for a couple more minutes to fry off the moisture, and then transfer to a bowl.

From now on, you have to work quick, since we want the dough warm. Add your eggs one at a time, making sure to thoroughly incorporate each one before adding the next one. Then add in your Parmigiano, and stir until combined. Transfer your dough in a plastic bag, so that you can pipe out the gnocchi into the boiling water.

While you are preparing the dough, make sure to prepare a pot of salted water so that by the time you are done with the dough, your water comes up to a rolling boil.

Once you have your dough and water ready, heat up a pan on medium/ high heat, so that you can transfer the gnocchi from the water straight into the hot pan.

Cut off a small piece from the corner of your bag that contains the dough, and start to push out the mixture into the boiling water, making sure you use a knife to cut off every time a small amount of the dough comes out from the bag. Obviously if you want bigger gnocchi, you can push out more dough before cutting it off. They cook very quickly, and start to float on the surface once they are done.

At that point, add a knob of butter in your pan, and transfer the gnocchi into the pan using a slotted spoon or mesh strainer. Toss to coat them in the butter and sear them off so that they develop a brown shell.

Top with white pepper and Parmigiano, or toss them in your sauce and serve!