Potato Gnocchi with Sauteed Prawns in a Burnt Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

1.5kg desiree potatoes

1 x 55g egg

2 tbs grana parmesan

125g plain flour

2 tsp sea salt

300g fresh prawn meat

60g unsalted butter

Salt and pepper

6 tsp salted baby capers, rinsed and drained

¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Verjuice

Sage butter

1 bunch sage

200g unsalted butter

Good for 6 servings

Method

1. Place unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan of cold water; bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30

minutes or until tender. The potatoes must be neither under nor over cooked, test with a skewer - when it is easily

inserted, they are cooked (avoid testing too frequently otherwise they may become water logged).

2. Drain potatoes into a colander, cover with a fresh tea towel and place colander over the original pot in a warm

place for 10 minutes to drain completely.

3. Peel potatoes and pass through a mouli, in batches, into the original dry saucepan. Gently mix in the egg, salt

and parmesan. Sieve in the flour and combine with a few swift folds.

4. Tip potato mixture onto a lightly floured bench and gently work it into a smooth homogeneous (uniform)

mound.

5. Using a pastry scrape, scrape down the bench, wash and dry your hands and lightly flour the surface again. Cut

off ¼ of the potato mix at a time and roll out into a sausage shape to a thickness of about 1½ cm. Cut each sausage

into 2cm pieces. Makes approx 60 pieces.

6. Place these on a tray lined with grease proof paper, ready for cooking in salted boiling water.

7. For the sage butter, heat the butter in a shallow frying pan. When starting to bubble, add the sage leaves and

cook until crisp and almost translucent. Pour through a sieve placed over a bowl. Spread the leaves on paper towel

to drain. Keep warm. Reserve butter.

8. When ready to cook the gnocchi, heat 20g of unsalted butter in a wide frying pan. It should reach beurre noisette

(nut brown stage) before adding 100g of prawn meat. Sauté for one minute, deglaze with a dash of verjuice and

add 2 tsp of capers.

9. Cook gnocchi in a large pan of boiling salted water in small batches of 20 pieces at a time. Shortly after the

gnocchi has risen to the surface (test to see if it is cooked) remove with a strainer, drain and add to the pan. Toss

the pan to coat the gnocchi in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 tbs of chopped parsley. Spoon

among 2 serving plates and top with fried sage leaves.

10. Deglaze the pan with a little of the sage butter previously saved and pour over the finished gnocchi. Repeat

twice more to complete 6 serves.