Mushroom Gnocchi

Gnocchi's one of those little fuzzy things that you just can't get enough of. The name is too just so cute that you don't want to stop saying it. Light and fluffy pillow cases that just melt away when you bite into them and they pair perfectly with a lightly flavoured mushroom sauce. The Gnocchi need a bit of muscle in the prep, and so it makes sense to start a little early.

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• 4 potatoes, whole
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• salt to taste
• salted water to boil

Mushroom sauce

• 4-5 button mushroom, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly chopped
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp pepper

Method

Gnocchi

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water, until cooked through. To test the potatoes, run a knife till the centre; if the knife passes through easily, the potato is cooked, but it it encounters any resistance, keep boiling.
2. Once boiled, run the potatoes under cold water and peel the skin off.
3. Mash the potatoes until smooth, and add the egg. Mix around and add half the flour.
4. Oil your fingers and knead the mix. Keep adding incremental amounts of flour till you get a sticky dough that keeps its form.
5. Roll out the dough into a thick sausage shape and cut out sections around an inch across.
6. Heat some salted water and once boiling, add the sections. Boil until they rise up to the surface and remove. 

Sauce

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic. Cook until it starts to brown.
2. Add the mushroom, chili flakes, pepper and oregano, and cook until the oil starts to separate.
3. Add the wine and cook on a high flame for a minute.
4. Add a little of the gnoochi cooking liqour to make a sauce.
5. Let it stew on low heat until it melds together; the starch in the cooking liqour should thicken to create a thick sauce. You can add a little water to thin it down.
6. Check the salt, and add salt if necessary.
7. Toss the gnocchi into the sauce, and lightly stir around.
8. Serve up hot with some bread to mop up the sauce.