They may look intimidating but homemade gnocchi is well worth the effort and the actual process is pretty easy.  Impress your nearest and dearest with this pan-fried gnocchi recipe from Kleenheat paired with robust, wild mushrooms for flavour and texture.

Ingredients

1kg Sebago potatoes* washed, peeled and cut into quarters
2 eggs beaten
200g plain flour
Wild mushrooms or a selection of any mixed mushroom variety, sliced
2 tbsps. of butter
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon, with zest
Salt and pepper

Note:Choose a floury or all-purpose potato variety such as Desiree, Yukon Gold or Crème Royale for example.

Method

Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to the boil on high heat with the lid partially on.

Cook until tender (test with a skewer).

Once cooked, drain potatoes well and mash until smooth (using a potato ricer works best), and allow to cool.

Sift in flour a little at a time

Add eggs and two teaspoons of salt.

Use your hands to combine mixture with floured hands. Be careful not to overwork the gnocchi, or it’ll become too dense.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

Cut the dough into smaller amounts and then shape each one into logs, cutting into 2- 3 cm pieces

Place the gnocchi on a flour-dusted tray, cover with a tea towel and set aside.

Cook in a pot of boiling salted water and cook gnocchi in batches. When they rise to the surface, it’s cooked! Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a tray.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium-high heat until melted. Transfer cooked gnocchi into the pan to form a single layer. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss gnocchi for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to plates.

Using the same pan, on small to medium heat, add butter, garlic and lemon juice with zest and sauté.

Add mushrooms and cook until crispy. Pour over gnocchi with a squeeze of lemon and serve.