served with Roasted Butternut and a Burnt Butter and Sage Cream Sauce
Recipe Shane Lowe, Images Ashlee DeCaires
Shane Lowe, head chef and co-owner of Oak in Morrinsville, says this is “my go to recipe for making gnocchi”. When Shane sent us this recipe in late autumn he said, “We currently have it on the menu with courgette and basil puree, roasted baby vege, pico de gallo and parmesan, but I have opted for a different sauce as tomatoes are very much about to sky rocket as winter hits.”
Shane explains that “the gnocchi recipe came about from a dinner party we had with some friends and then I just adapted the recipe to make it gluten free/friendly and make it more accessible to more customers.”
If you haven’t discovered Oak Eatery, Morrinsville’s favourite local spot, it’s worth a drive. Shane’s food hits the spot, while Tash, his other half in business and life, will ensure the service is on point. There is an awesome playground just off their large deck, so the little ones will be happy too.
Oak Eatery
15 Fairway Drive, Lockerbie Estate, Morrinsville
Serves 4
700g agria potatoes, washed
2 egg yolks
¾ cup (75g) gluten free flour
1 tsp (5g) salt
¾ cup (100g) shredded parmesan
3 tbsp (25g–50g) crushed garlic (depends on how garlicky you like)
polenta to roll gnocchi
1 whole butternut
2 tbsp (50g) butter
10 sage leaves, finely chopped
¾ –1 cup cream
parmesan
chives to garnish
For the Gnocchi:
Prick the potatoes with a fork or knife and place in oven at 180°C for approximately 1½ hours or until soft. Once cooked cut potato in half and pass the flesh through a ricer, or mash as smooth as possible with a masher. Set aside to cool slightly.
Once cooled, add in remaining ingredients and knead together to form a dough. If dough is sticky, add a little more flour. Dust the bench with some polenta and roll dough out into logs roughly 1½cm in diameter. Cut logs into desired size gnocchi pieces. Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
For the Butternut Sauce
Peel butternut and dice into 2cm cubes. In a frying pan on medium heat add a tbsp of cooking oil and fry butternut off in batches until caramelised. Once all the butternut has been cooked, heat the butter in the pan until frothy (should have a slight nutty smell), add butternut in with finely chopped sage leaves. Season with salt and pepper and add cream. Reduce cream until thickened.
While the cream is reducing, fry gnocchi in a deep fryer at 180°C until crispy. If you do not have a deep fryer, you can shallow fry your gnocchi in a saucepan.
To plate
Pile the gnocchi and butternut in the middle of a plate and then spoon over the cream sauce. Top with as much parmesan as you would like. Slice chives into 3cm lengths and garnish on top.
