Chestnut Gnocchi With Porcini And Sage Butter

A wonderfully comforting winter supper

1. Place the dried porcini in a bowl and cover with 150ml boiling water. Set aside for 40 – 50 minutes to soak and rehydrate.

2. To make the gnocchi, place the potatoes on to a perforated steam tray. Put in the Miele steam oven and steam at 100°C for 25 minutes. Once cooked, add the chestnuts to the steam tray. Steam for a further 5 minutes at 100°C.

3. Remove from the steam oven and mash the potatoes and chestnut together or use a potato ricer into a bowl. Add ½ tsp salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in the whole egg, egg yolk and grated parmesan. Mix well to make a soft dough.

4. Cut the dough into eight pieces. Roll each into a sausage shape about 1 cm thick. Then slice into 2cm lengths. Using a fork, lightly press on top of each or roll on to a butter paddle to get the stripe indents on the gnocchi.

5. Place the gnocchi on a perforated steam tray and steam for 1 minute at 100°C.

6. To finish the dish, place 20g of butter into a large frying pan and melt on a medium heat. Once the gnocchi have been steamed, add to the hot butter along with the sliced chestnuts. Fry for 30 seconds on a medium-high heat until golden whilst tossing every now and then.

7. Tip the gnocchi and chestnuts on to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Drain the porcini mushrooms reserving the soaking water. (It may need to be sieved in case there are any gritty bits from the mushrooms.) Add the white wine and the water from the mushrooms to the frying pan. Simmer vigorously to reduce by half. Add the porcini mushrooms and sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Leave to simmer gently for one minute on a low-medium heat. Add the gnocchi with the remaining butter. Stir well. Serve with parmesan shavings and freshly ground pepper.