Spring Ricotta Gnocchi - Chef Recipe by Wayne Leeson

Ingredients

500g ricotta
100g plain flour
50g Parmesan
1g egg yolk
5g salt
500g snow peas
500g sugar snaps
2 bunches asparagus
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1/2 bunch mint
1 bunch dill
20g capers
30mL lemon juice
100mL olive oil
30g confit or roast garlic
100g butter
200mL vegetable stock

Method

Salsa verde:

Place the garlic, lemon juice and capers into a pestle and mortar, muddle together to form a paste, add half a bunch of parsley and dill leaves, muddle together then add the olive oil and check for seasoning.

Set aside for serving.

Salad and vegetables:

Finely slice 8 of the snow peas and sugar snaps lengthways, using a peeler shave 6 units of asparagus keeping the trim (if you would like a curly effect place it in ice water for a few minutes).

Place into a small mixing bowl with picked parsley, dill and shredded mint. Set aside for serving.

Cut the remaining vegetables to desired shape or leave whole and set aside for cooking.

Gnocchi:

Bring a medium pot of water to the boil, make sure to season the water with salt.

Place the ricotta, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and egg yolk into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Incorporate the flour to make a soft dough.

Sprinkle additional flour on the bench or chopping board, taking roughly 100g of dough at a time, roll out into logs, cut the logs into pillow shapes roughly 2 cm thick, set aside on a floured tray and repeat the process till the dough is finished.

Once the pot of water has come to the boil, add the gnocchi in batches.

Once the gnocchi starts to float remove and place into a strainer to get rid of excess water. Repeat this process till all the gnocchi is
cooked. Once drained coat with olive oil or spray oil to prevent from sticking.

Heat a large frying pan to medium heat, pan fry the gnocchi till crisp on all sides, add 1 tablespoon of butter and vegetables (vegetables could be pre-blanched to expedite this cooking process) alternatively add 200mL of vegetable stock and allow to simmer for 2 minutes, finish with another tablespoon of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice, check for seasoning.

Dress the salad with salsa verde and serve.