Purple potato gnocchi with parmigiano cream sauce

Making gnocchi always takes me back to where it started for me in the kitchen, cooking with Nonna. Here, purple potato adds a beautiful colour to the gnocchi, served with a Parmigiano Reggiano cream sauce and pangrattato.

Purple potato gnocchi with parmigiano cream sauce. Credit: Luca's Key Ingredient

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Purple gnocchi

• 1 kg purple potatoes (see Note)
• 250-300 g ‘00’ flour or plain flour + 100g to roll gnocchi
• 2 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano plus more to garnish
• 1 egg, free-range
• 100 g unsalted butter, for cooking

Parmigiano fonduta (cream sauce)

• 50 ml fresh milk
• 200 g fresh cream
• 150 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

To serve

• 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 80 g speck, cut into a blender
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 anchovies
• 100 g panko breadcrumb
• Mixed baby herbs, to garnish, optional

Serves 4-5

Instructions

1. To make the gnocchi, boil potatoes in plenty of water with skin on. When cooked, drain them as soon as possible, peel the skin and mash.
2. Place the potatoes on a flat surface and, a little at a time, add flour, Parmigiano Reggiano and egg. Gently knead until a dough is formed.
3. Divide the gnocchi dough into 4 pieces. Roll each one into a 1.5-2 cm thick roll. Cut each roll with a sharp knife into 2-3 cm lengths. Roll each one on a gnocchi board or small fork to give the classic gnocchi shape.
4. Add milk, cream and Parmigiano Reggiano to a small saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring every few minutes till the cheese has fully melted.
5. Meanwhile, bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a large and wide pot.
6. To make pangrattato, add oil in a frying pan, then add speck and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the anchovies then add breadcrumb and cook until golden. When ready, remove from heat and remove the garlic.
7. Drop gnocchi into the boiling water. Heat butter in a separate frying pan. As soon as the gnocchi surface, drain and gently toss with the butter in the frying pan.
8. To serve, place Parmigiano Reggiano sauce onto a large platter, lay the purple gnocchi on it and top with speck & anchovy ‘Pangrattato’. Garnish with herbs, optional.

Note

Some potatoes have a purple skin but creamy flesh. To get the purple colour in the gnocchi, you need potatoes with purple flesh, e.g. Purple Congo.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.