Goat’s Cheese Gnocchi – Random Recipes #26

It’s funny how we copy down recipes for meals we have enjoyed or tear out pages surreptitiously in waiting rooms yet, we often don’t get around to making the dishes.  Before you know it, you’ve got a veritable library stashed away.  You edit and tidy but the pile grows again.  When I was travelling in Europe and the UK during 2009 and 2010, I didn’t have many cookbooks at my disposal so I turned to recipe surfing on the Internet as well as the occasional foray into a waiting room.  I started carrying around little piles of printings and clippings from country to country.  Did I cook from them?  Not usually.  Since I’ve been back in Australia, my cookbook collection had returned to its rightful prominent place but I still have my clippings.

• 500g potatoes, peeled
• 100g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled (I used Meredith Dairy)
• 240g plain flour, sifted
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
• 60g butter
• 1tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves
• 100g toasted walnuts, chopped
• 20g fresh grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper

Method

• Cut the potatoes into similar sized chunks, place in saucepan, cover with 4cm of water, salt well and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes until tender.
• Mash the potatoes with a fork but not completely smooth. A little texture in the gnocchi is good.
• Transfer the mash to a bowl and allow to cool.  When tepid, add the flour, goat’s cheese, egg, seasoning and parsley if using.
• Mix with a wooden spoon then, bring together with your hands to make a firm dough.
• Knead dough gently for a few minutes in the bowl or on a floured surface then divide dough into four portions.
• Roll each portion into a long sausage approximately 1cm in diameter. Cut each sausage into 2.5cm long pieces. Roll each piece over the back of a fork if you wish to create the ‘classic gnocchi indent’.
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Add the goat’s cheese gnocchi in batches to the water and cook for a few minutes until they rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a dish in a low oven. Repeat with remaining batches.
• Warm butter over a medium heat until it is a deep, rich hazelnut brown then dip the base of the pan into cold water to stop it cooking immediately. Better for it to be a paler golden brown than to have a butter that is burnt and bitter.
• Add the lemon, thyme, walnuts, goat’s cheese gnocchi and seasoning to the pan and toss.
• Serve with Parmesan sprinkled over. Yum!

1 – locate your clippings, old hand-written recipes, tear sheets etc and place them all on a table or floor…
2 – close your eyes, put out your hand and randomly land it on a clipping
3 – make that exact recipe – do not cheat, you’re only cheating yourself!
4 – you may adapt the recipe for health/dietary/product availability purposes only