Alternatively for the main, these are great, take a while to prepare, but relatively easy and so nice.
Spinach gnocchi with mushroom and wine sauce
Ingredients
For the gnocchi
600g 5oz floury potatoes (such Russets), unpeeled
600g of Baby spinach
1 large free-range egg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g plain flour
For the sauce
300g mushrooms
200g Shitaki mushrooms
1 medium finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (or one teaspoon of lazy garlic)
200ml white wine
200ml cream
Finley chopped parsley to serve
Method: Gnocchi *makes about 10-12 starters*
1) Boil the potatoes for about 40 minutes(skins on), until tender. Remove from the heat, drain and leave to cool. Once cooled, skin and mash well in a bowl.
2) Boil a large saucepan of salted water. Wash and pick through the spinach, discarding any withered leaves and removing any large, stringy stems.
3) Blanch the spinach in batches for about 30 seconds, refreshing each batch in ice cold water. Drain and gently squeeze any remaining liquid from the spinach. You need to remove as much water as possible, so make into a thin layer and sandwich between loads of kitchen paper.
4) Finely chop the spinach
5) Mix the spinach into the mashed potato.
6) Add the flour and mix well to form a dough. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes, until it becomes dry to the touch. This is the hard bit, it really needs to be reasonably dry. As it has spinach in your are unlikely to need a whole egg, so you need to add it as you go, If you don't want to waste eggs, melted butter will also work fine.
7) season with slat and pepper
8) leave in fridge till you ready to use, can be made 24hours in advance if needed, just make sure it's covered so it doesn't dry out.
9) Divide the dough into three pieces. On a clean, well-floured surface, roll out the dough into 1in diameter lengths, then cut into pieces at 1in intervals.
10) Place these gnocchi pieces into boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. When they rise to the top they are cooked. Scoop out with a slotted spoon
b]Method:[/b] Sauce
1) Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan on a low heat. Add the Onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic when the onions have turned translucent. Cook until the garlic has taken on a little colour.
2) Add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir again. Raise the heat and pour in the white wine.
3) When the wine has reduced by two-thirds, reduce the heat, add the cream.
4) toss the cooked gnocchi in the sauce and serve with a sprinkle of parsley on top.
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