Truffled Mushrooms with Chestnuts & Potato Gnocchi Recipe

Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C for a fan oven. Bake the whole skin-on potatoes for about 45 minutes to an hour until soft and cooked through.

When cool enough to handle, halve the potatoes and scoop out the flesh and push it through a sieve with the back of a spoon, or use a potato ricer. Keep the skins for another meal (roast them in a hot oven with some salt and olive oil until crisp and golden).

Place the mashed potato on a clean, dry work surface and add the salt and nutmeg. Then add the egg yolks and evenly scatter over the flour. Mix, kneading gently, to form a soft, pillowy dough. You can add a touch of extra flour – a tablespoon or two – if the mix is too sticky. Resist adding more as this will make for tough, bouncy gnocchi. Rest the dough for 5 minutes before shaping.

Cut the dough into four evenly sized pieces and on a very lightly floured surface, roll each one into a long sausage shape, about 3cm in diameter. Cut into pieces about 4cm long, placing the gnocchi on a lightly floured chopping board as you work.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, or until they float to the top. Drain them with a slotted spoon and place on a lightly oiled tray and allow to cool.

In a pan over a moderate heat, fry the onion in the olive oil for around 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add the garlic, thyme and mushrooms, and cook for around 5 minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid and it cooks away.

Chop the soaked porcinis, reserving the soaking liquid and add to the pan. Stir in the flour and tomato purée and cook for about 30 seconds. Then stir in the wine, porcini soaking liquid and the chestnuts. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Leave uncovered for the flavours to meld and the juices to thicken in the pan. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as required.

In a non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over a moderate heat, fry the gnocchi in oil or butter for roughly 5 minutes, until lightly browned on both sides and hot through. Serve the gnocchi with the mushrooms and sprinkle with parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.