Recipes

Sautéed Gnocchi with Truffle Fonduta, Sprouted Cauliflower and Salsify

Prep 1.5 hours (if making gnocchi from scratch)
Serves 4
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This dish comes directly from Chef Michael Anthony, famed Executive Chef of Gramercy Tavern and Chef Partner at the new Lex Yard at the recently renovated and reopened Waldorf Astoria. Chef Anthony has been wowing diners in New York City for over two decades. And even during my time in NYC, he was already a mainstay, as was the Gramercy Tavern.

It was such a pleasure finally working with Michael and such a joy seeing his ongoing commitment to honoring the growers, farmers and purveyors from throughout the region. It’s so important to remember that the reason New York City is where it is, and how it has one of the most amazing food scenes, is because of the abundance of the Hudson Valley and access to amazing ingredients from all over the world through its ports. To learn more about Chef’s commitment to his growers, please tune in to Wild Foods or pick up a copy of The Grammercy Tavern Cookbook. And Lex Yard is now open and taking reservations, so make it a point to stop by next time you are in the city.

Ingredients

Gnocchi

  • 4 large russet potatoes (about 2-3 lbs. total)
  • 2 large pasture raised eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (a bit extra for dusting)
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt (plus a bit extra for water)
  • Semolina flour (for dusting and non-sticking)

Fonduta

  • 8 oz fontina cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 TBSP salted butter
  • 2 tbsp truffle oil (shaved fresh truffle is even better, if available)

Additions

  • 3-4 Salsify roots, burdock root or one full raw artichoke
  • 8 oz of sprouted cauliflower, broccolini or Romanesco
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1-2 oz regular olive oil (for sauté of veggies)

Instructions

Gnocchi:

  1. Pierce the potatoes many times with a fork and place in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour. Remove from the oven when fully baked and allow to cool until easily handled. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the inside, discarding the skins (or enjoy them with a little sour cream or cashew yogurt tzatziki).
  2. Mash the potato flesh with a fork add eggs, all-purpose flour and salt and mix well until the dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about three minutes.
  3. Sprinkle a layer of semolina flour on a baking sheet. Divide dough into two or three equal pieces and roll each out into a long rope, about 1” in diameter. Cut the ropes into desired size pieces (1-2” gives you a nice mouthful). If the dough is too soft you can freeze for a few minutes to tighten. Use a fork to create ridges, if desired.
  4. In a large pot of boiling salted water, gook the gnocchi until it floats to the surface, about 2 minutes. Fish them out with a strainer or slotted spoon and set aside.

Fonduta

  1.  It is okay to try and make this in a saucepan but much safer to use a double boiler. At the very least, the first time, I suggest using a mixing bowl over a skillet of steaming hot (best not to boil) water to slowly fold all the ingredients together.
  2. Begin heating the milk, butter and truffle oil and add the cheese. It is much easier if it is grated but cubed is fine. To make the cheese softer, it is very nice to soak it in milk overnight. Once the cheese and other ingredients are mostly combined, fold in the separated yolks, continuing to stir for 4-5 minutes.
  3. Set the sauce aside as it will likely need to be reheated after preparing the vegetables and sautéing the gnocchi. I like adding just a pinch of lemon juice or zest and a dash of sea salt, but these are completely optional

Sautéed Vegetables and Gnocchi

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic and sauté the cauliflower. If using Salsify or burdock root, I typically boil for several minutes and then slice very thin. If Artichoke, I will slice off the thorny tips and stem and steam for about 30 minutes. Then they can be added to the sauté as well. Finally, the gnocchi goes in last and sautéed until the outside is golden brown.

Plating

  1. While you are sautéing the veggies and gnocchi, you can reheat the fonduta in the still steaming hot water and mixing bowl. Once it is melted, spoon out a healthy portion onto a plate for the base. You can crack a little fresh pepper for garnish here. Then place 3-4 large sautéed gnocchi and finally the sautéed vegetable of choice. Feel free to finish with a drizzle of extra truffle oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this relatively approachable dish at your rooftop dinner party to really impress your urbanite foodie friends. Enjoy!