Please don’t take this post as an indication that I don’t love potatoes, because me and spuds are most definitely friends. We go way back. Oh, the times we’ve had together, at breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and in between – who doesn’t love a snacking hash brown? I just had a lot of carrots hanging around and wanted to see if carrot-based gnocchi would work. And it does!
Owing to the carrot in this recipe, the result is much sweeter than your usual gnocchi, and lighter too, so you can stuff more into your face in one sitting. There’s enough flavour there without faffing around with rich sauces, so I kept things simple with butter, olive oil and punchy sun-dried tomatoes, plus a generous smattering of Parmesan, of course. If you’re adamant it needs something else, green pesto would be great, but you should really just trust me and eat it like this.
Bon appetit!
Serves 2-3
You’ll need:
Tsp butter
500g carrots, peeled and chopped
1 egg
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch paprika
60g Parmesan, grated
200g plain flour, sieved
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Tbsp salted butter
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, grated
Splash of white wine
10 sun-dried tomatoes
5-6 sage leaves, finely chopped
Olive oil, fresh basil and Parmesan to serve
Steam the chopped carrots with the butter for 15-20 minutes or until very soft. Tip into a large bowl and blitz with a hand blender – you’re aiming for a smooth puree with no lumps.
Mix in the egg, nutmeg and paprika, then fold in the Parmesan, followed by the flour. Transfer to the fridge uncovered for 30 mins to an hour.
Flour your hands and the worktop – the mixture will be quite sticky at this stage – and make 3-4 evenly sized balls. Pull off small chunks, roll into individual balls and press your thumb into the top of each, like the picture above.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil while you make the ‘sauce’.
Heat the onion in a little olive oil and salted butter for a few minutes, add the garlic for a few more minutes and then the sage.
Cook the gnocchi in the boiling water – within 3-4 minutes the pieces should bob to the surface – then transfer to the pan with the onion and garlic, turning the heat down so the gnocchi doesn’t crisp.
Add the wine, let it sizzle and become thicker, then throw in the sun-dried tomatoes.
Serve with lots of olive oil or chilli oil, Parmesan and fresh basil.
