gnocchi

WITH TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER SAUCE

If you’re going to make your own gnocchi – and it is worth the effort – it might as well be a bit of a treat. This recipe is decadent and delicious, especially if you add a sprinkling of truffle shavings at the end.

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SERVES: 4

PREPARATION: 45 minutes

COOKING: about 2 hours 10 minutes

FOR THE SAUCE

400 g (14 oz) cauliflower florets, cut small

1 onion, quartered

1 garlic bulb, separated into cloves, skin on

2 tablespoons rapeseed or vegetable oil sea salt flakes

2 teaspoons truffle oil, or more to taste

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk, plus extra if needed

300 ml (10½ fl oz) vegetable stock, plus extra if needed

freshly ground black pepper

shaved black or white truffle, to serve (optional)

FOR THE GNOCCHI

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) all-purpose potatoes, ideally desiree, pricked all over with a fork

200 g (7 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, ideally 00, plus extra for dusting

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 pinch nutmeg

Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5). In a baking tray, toss the cauliflower, onion and garlic in the rapeseed or vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 45 minutes, or until tender. Shake the tray a couple of times during cooking. Set aside when cooked, then bake the potatoes for 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes, or until very soft.

Meanwhile, put the cauliflower, onion, the flesh from the garlic cloves, truffle oil, milk, stock and salt and pepper in a blender and blitz until smooth. Transfer to a pan and gently heat, adding more stock or milk if too thick. Keep warm.

While the potatoes are hot, scoop out the flesh and push through a potato ricer or sieve into a mound on a work surface dusted with flour. Sprinkle over the salt and nutmeg. Gradually knead in the flour to make a soft dough.

Tear off a lemon-sized piece of dough and roll into a sausage shape 3 cm (1¼ inches) in diameter. Cut at 3 cm (1¼ inch) intervals to make square pillows. Set aside on a floured tray. Repeat. Press indentations in the gnocchi with the tines of a fork.

Cook the gnocchi in gently simmering salted water until they bob to the surface. Tip into a serving dish and stir through the sauce. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the shaved truffle (if using).