Crispy potato gnocchi with foraged mushrooms and aspargus

October 14, 2015 Published by Dina

The Okanagan Wine Festival has just ended and as usual there were many events that I attended with my friend My friend Val of More than Burnt Toast. Mid week we piled into the Hummer and drove to Penticton for a wild mushroom and pinot noir tasting offered at the new Wine Information Society Sensory Centre at the Penticton  Campus of Okanagan College. It’s about an hour drive from Kelowna but Val and I are known to drive further for a cup of coffee if we are curious.

The class was presented by Chef Roger Planiden who worked with several major hotels before settling in the Okanagan to teach at the college and run his own catering business, Culinary Adventures.


 

Potato gnocchi

Potato gnocchi with salad greens from Sunshine Farms


I go to a lot of events and attend many cooking classes and it’s not often that I like everything but this was one of those rare classes where I loved everything he made: wild mushroom soup, mushroom risotto and potato gnocchi with wild mushrooms. Each dish was cooked to perfection and paired with a local pinot noir and it was interesting to compare how the different wines interacted with the dishes.

As is often the case after I taste something good I want to make it at home and this week I made potato gnocchi that I combined with foraged mushrooms from Scott Moran, our local forager.

I usually do not add an egg to the gnocchi but did this time and after they were cooked I proceeded to sauté them until golden and crisp. The secret to making gnocchi is the correct proportion of potatoes to flour. After you make it a few times you get the feel for it. You can always drop a few gnocchi into the boiling water and cook them, and if they are falling apart then add more flour to the dough and roll it out again.


Foraged wild mushrooms

Foraged wild mushrooms


 

Ingredients:


 

Gnocchi:

4 baking potatoes

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 – 2 cups flour or as needed

Mushrooms-asparagus:

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion

1 lb mushrooms, chopped

1 bunch asparagus, cut diagonally into pieces

Salt and pepper

 


 

Directions:


Boil, microwave or bake the potatoes until done. When they are cooked through peel and pass the flesh through a a potato ricer while the potatoes are still warm.

Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Add the egg, yolk, cheese, salt and pepper and mix well.

Begin adding the flour about half a cup at a time mixing it in with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Do not overwork the dough and only add as much flour as the potatoes absorb. Don’t add too little flour either, as the gnocchi will fall apart when they cook.

Knead the dough until it comes together.

Divide the dough into 4-5 pieces and roll each into a cylinder about 1/2 inch thick for small gnocchi, larger for larger gnocchi.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

When the water is boiling drop in half the gnocchi and bring back to a boil. Cook until the gnocchi float to the surface. Continue cooking for about a minute, then remove with a slotted spoon.

To cook the mushrooms and asparagus:

Heat butter or oil in a large skillet, add the onion and cook until translucent.

Add the mushrooms and cook until softened.

Add the asparagus and continue cooking until it is crisp tender. You can add a little stock if the skillet seems dry. Remove to a dish.

Add the cooked gnocchi to the same skillet with a little more butter or oil and cook until crisp golden.

Return mushrooms and asparagus to the skillet and stir gently until heated through.

Pile into bowls,grate parmesan over and serve hot.


Potato gnocchi

Potato gnocchi

Potato gnocchi with foraged mushrooms

Potato gnocchi with foraged mushrooms

Wild mushrooms

Wild mushrooms



 

2 Comments

  • Gnocchi are my comfort food,,my dear mom would make them on cold winter days and she would do a special set for my sister and I filled with plums ,,boiled then she would put butter and bread crumbs to sauté and drizzle that on them ,,if we were lucky she would grate chocolate on top of that,,great food memories,,thanks Dina

    • Dina says:

      Oh, Marisa, you are speaking my language. We should make them this way when we get together. I am definitely going to try and have someone make them for me in Italy. It sounds so good. Were hers made with ricotta?