Gnocchi with cavolo nero
Recipe no. 55 by Feisty Feast

A seasonal green sauce that is versatile and as delicious as it is aesthetically pleasing. This is more of a concept of making a green sauce emulsion that you can use for Gnocchi or beans or whatever you like.

Recipe ( Serves four )

Gnocchi:

500 g potato

50 g Parmesan 

200 g farina

1 egg

1 big tbsp of sea salt 

Nutmeg

Sauce:

Big bunch of cavolo nero, spinach, wild garlic, or all three (cavolo nero can also be substituted for spinach or wild garlic)

2 cups of finely grated parmesan 

Zest from one lemon 

1 1/2 cups of olive oil

4 tbsp of butter

Salt + pepper

1. 1. Boil the unpeeled potatoes in very salty water and let them cool down.
2. 2. Wash cavolo nero and remove the stalks, fill a pot with salted water and blanch the greens with one clove of garlic for about 2-3 minutes. Reserve the salted green water. Plunge the greens into an ice bath and squeeze out excess liquid. Add the cavolo nero, garlic, Parmesan, lemon zest and 1 1/2 cups of olive oil to a food processor or blender and blend on medium, adding some of the salted green water to loosen the mixture. It should be a creamy, velvety texture, not watery or too stiff. Keep the sauce aside in a big mixing bowl.
3. 3. Peel the potatoes by hand (this is my favorite part because the skins come off very easily after being boiled in the salty water). On a clean surface, make a mountain of flour and with a potato ricer, rice the potatoes directly on top of the flour. Add salt, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, and an egg, and quickly incorporate the ingredients using your hands and a pastry wedge to help keep it all together. Knead the dough for no more than 5 minutes into a cylindrical shaped log. Slice a chunk of the dough and roll it out on a floured surface into a long log. Slice into small chunks and then roll into small round pearls. Place them on a floured sheet of baking paper. Roll out the rest of the gnocchi, setting aside on multiple sheets of baking paper.
4. 4. Re-boil the salty green blanching water, adding more water if needed. Tip the gnocchi into the boiling water and wait until they rise to the top. Then, using a slotted spoon, transfer them to the bowl with the sauce and gently mix them with a rubber spatula. Add 1/4 cup of pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce. Add a big pinch of Maldon salt, a few cracks of fresh pepper and an extra grating of Parmesan. Enjoy with a glass of chilled white wine.