POTATO GNOCCHI

Potato gnocchi is the perfect comfort supper for the cooler evenings in autumn. Serve with a classic sage and butter sauce, slow-cooked tomato sauce to capture the last of summer, or a warming beef ragu. In Poland we have a very similar dish called kopytka, which I used to love when it was served with creamy mushroom sauce, another autumn favourite.

If you want to create ridged gnocchi, place each square on a garganelli board and, using your thumb, gently press down and push away from you across the ridges of the board.

Makes enough for 4

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

Prepare the baking tray by spreading the sea salt across the base and placing the whole scrubbed potatoes on top of it. Each potato should be sitting in its own little nest of salt.  Bake until they are just cooked through but not too soft, which should take about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave them for five minutes to cool slightly.

Using a cloth to protect your hands, halve each potato and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Discard the skins (or keep them to shallow fry later – great with baked beans and a fried egg). Mash the potatoes – you should end up with about 450-500g of mash – and leave the bowl to one side until the mash is completely cool.

When you’re ready for the next step, add the egg yolks, flour and salt to the bowl and combine everything together until you have a smooth mixture. Don’t over-mix or you’ll end up needing to add more flour, which will make the gnocchi heavy.

Tip the dough onto a clean worktop, roughly divide it into four pieces and roll each piece into a finger-width sized rope. Dust them generously with flour as you finish rolling each one.

When all four ropes are completed, line them up in a row and cut them into thumb-sized pieces. If you’re eating them straightaway, drop them into boiling salted water and cook for one and a half minutes, or until they bob to the surface. Scoop them out of the water and transfer into your warmed sauce. Serve with a generous of scattering of Parmesan.

If you’re not planning to eat them for a day or two, blanch the gnocchi (if you don’t blanch them, they will just soften and become sticky). Drop into boiling salted water, as above, then transfer them to a bowl of iced water, allow to cool, then drain and place in flat containers, drizzled lightly with olive oil. Store them in the fridge, where they will keep well for up to three days.