Romance, Wellington Style

This Valentines Day surprise your special someone with the most delicious decadent dessert made especially for them. Nothing represents this romantic holiday more than chocolate. To help celebrate we are sending along our recipe for Wellington Court Chocolate Truffle Cake. … Continue reading →

Gnocchi

Warm up a winter day with soft melt in your mouth gnocchi, made fresh, eaten fast!

At Wellington Court Restaurant Gnocchi is an old friend. At times it comes off the menu but it isn’t long before it returns. Apparently gnocchi may come from the italian word nocchio, meaning a knot in wood. It has also been said it comes from the word nocca which means knuckle. There are also different styles of the small soft dumpling such as flour (semolina or wheat) or potato.

At Wellington Court we make potato gnocchi. Most recently we served it with scrumptious local lamb bolognaise. I was fortunate enough to purchase 6 lamb from Tawse winery which spend their lives grazing in the vineryard as a part of the wineries commitment to sustainable farming practices. The Lamb was definitely special.

I hope you enjoy this video and try our potato gnocchi at home!

How to make Gnocchi

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WELLINGTON COURT POTATO GNOCCHI

INGREDIENTS:

SERVES 6-8 PEOPLE

3LBS POTATOES
2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
1 LARGE EGG
2 TABLESPOONS COURSE SALT

METHOD:

SET OVEN TO 375-400 DEGREES.

1. COVER THE BOTTOM OF AN OVENPROOF PAN WITH THE COURSE SALT. PLACE YOUR POTATOES ON THE SALT IN THE PAN IN A SINGLE LAYER. PIERCE THE POTATOES WITH A SHARP KNIFE. PLACE THE PAN IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR OVEN AND SET A TIMER FOR 40 MINUTES.

2. REMOVE POTATOES FROM OVEN. AS SOON AS YOU CAN HANDLE THE HOT POTATOES PEEL THE SKIN FROM THE FLESH. ONCE ALL POTATOES ARE PEELED DISCARD THE PEEL AND PUSH THE POTATOES THROUGH A RICER OR A FOOD MILL.

3. MAKE A WELL IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR POTATOES. ADD 11/2 CUPS OF YOUR FLOUR AS WELL AS THE LARGE EGG TO THE POTATOES. BEGIN TO WORK THE FLOUR AND EGG INTO THE POTATO. BE GENTLE WHILE KNEADING THE DOUGH, AS YOU DO NOT WANT TO CREATE A MASHED POTATO BUT RATHER A DOUGH.

4. PORTION THE DOUGH INTO WORKABLE SIZED PIECES (TENNIS BALL). USING YOUR HANDS ROLL INTO A LOG SHAPE APPROX. 1 INCH IN DIAMETER. CUT FROM THE LOG INTO 1 INCH PIECES. DUST GNOCCHI WITH FLOUR AND HOLD ON A BAKING SHEET UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO COOK. ROLL AND CUT ALL YOUR DOUGH INTO GNOCCHI.

5. BRING A LARGE POT OF WATER TO A BOIL. WHEN YOUR WATER IS AT A ROLLING BOIL YOU CAN START TO ADD YOUR GNOCCHI 15-20 AT A TIME. THE GNOCCHI WILL ONLY TAKE 3-4 MINUTES TO COOK. WHEN THEY FLOAT TO THE SURFACE THEY ARE DONE. USING A SLOTTED SPOON REMOVE THE COOKED GNOCCHI FROM THE WATER AND ADD MORE UNTIL YOU HAVE COOKED ALL OF YOUR GNOCCHI.

6. IN THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO WE ADDED THE COOKED GNOCCHI TO AN OVENPROOF SERVING DISH, POURED OUR SAUCE OVER TOP AND GRATED PARMASAN CHEESE OVER THE SURFACE. I THEN PLACED THE DISH IN THE OVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES TO CREATE A NICE GRATAIN TOP BEFORE SERVING.

HERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT OPTIONS:

- HAVE A SAUTEE PAN OF YOUR FAVORITE SAUCE READY TO ADD YOUR COOKED GNOCCHI TO AND COOK FOR A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO SERVING.

- TOSS YOUR COOKED GNOCCHI IN OIL AND LET COOL. ONCE COOLED YOU CAN STORE IN THE FRIDGE IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER FOR ANOTHER DAY.