Parsnip gnocchi with Sage & Hazelnuts

The parsnip patch has been uncharacteristically successful this year. Normally, I sow loads of seeds in old toilet rolls (the seedlings like space to grow long roots but hate root disturbance so I plant the whole roll and leave it to decay in the soil). I’m pretty chuffed if a third germinate, which I then coax into greenery in the cold frame, plant them out into the patch and say a little prayer that maybe a few will survive, enough to roast for Christmas dinner at best.

But this year, the first in my new raised beds, I thought, “ Enough! This is mollycoddling in the extreme. My new patch is full of beautiful compost, sheltered and comfortable. It is, by the standards of all other vegetables, a cushy location in which to grow. So if parsnips can’t survive here, then I’m afraid they’ll just have to find someone else to pander to their ridiculous demands.” So I planted the seeds directly, abandoned them to their fate and, as if to prove me wrong, they grew in abundance.

Which means I am, for the first time ever, at liberty to experiment with a parsnip harvest. I will, of course, roast some with honey and a little rosemary as usual, but I am also branching out to explore curry (coming soon), cake and, as here, gnocchi.

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Parsnip Gnocchi with Sage and Hazelnuts

Yield: 2Prep time: 40 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 H & 25 MLight pillows of parsnip gnocchi with nutty butter, hazelnuts and sage. A comforting vegetarian supper for a winter night

Ingredients

• 500g parsnips, peeled and cut into wedges

• 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 egg yolk

• 75g 00 pasta flour

• 50g butter

• 8 sage leaves, torn

• 30g hazelnuts, chopped

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

2. Toss the parsnips in extra virgin olive oil and season well with salt. Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes until cooked through and a little charred at the edges.

3. Tip the parsnips into a food processor and whizz to a puree. Add the egg yolk, flour and a little salt then whizz again until the mixture forms a soft, sticky dough.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, taking a small piece of dough at a time, roll out thick ropes approximately 15mm in diameter. It’s messy, but a light touch will help. Cut the ropes into rectangular ‘pillows’, dusting with a little flour as you go to prevent sticking. You can roll each pillow over the back of a fork for the traditional look too if you like too. Set aside somewhere cool while you make some nutty butter.

5. Gently melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Swirl the butter around in the pan continuously until it begins to turn brown and smell, magically, of nuts. It will take a few minutes. Pour into a small bowl and set aside (but not in the fridge).

6. To cook the gnocchi, plunge them into a pan of salted, boiling water for 2-3 minutes. They are cooked when they float to the surface, at which point you can fish them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a frying pan in which you have heated 1 tablespoon of the nutty butter. Add the sage and hazelnuts and fry for 3-5 minutes until the gnocchi are golden. Pour over the remaining nutty butter and serve immediately.

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