Fleurieu Living Magazine – April 2019

1. You must use a floury, older potato such as Nicola, Kennebec, King
   Edward, Royal Blue or Desiree. No new baby potatoes.


2. A potato ricer will yield a better result than mashing, however
   mashing will still do the job.


3. Do not overwork the dough (no kneading) and absolutely do not
   be tempted to use a food processor. Hands, spatula or wooden
   spoon with a light touch is required.

Gnocchi with wild Mushrooms and gremolata

serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

Gnocchi

1kg floury potatoes (see note above regarding variety)

2 egg yolks

3 tbsp grated parmesan

1 cup plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra if required

1/2 tsp fine salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mushrooms

600g mixed wild mushrooms (shitake, pine, slippery jack, swiss

brown, pearl, oyster etc), sliced

1/2 bunch of thyme

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup pure cream

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Gremolata

1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Zest of one lemon, finely grated

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt

Garnish

Parmesan, grated or shaved

Lemon wedges

A taste of autumn

Story by Mel Amos of The Fleurieu Kitchen. Photography by Aise Dillon. Styling by Marcus Syvertsen.

As I sit here writing this, the Fleurieu is in

the middle of a heatwave, so it’s hard to

contemplate that autumn is just around

the corner. Quite frankly, I think I’m ready.

I’m sure our air conditioner has been on

for seventy-two hours straight and I’m

longing for food with a little more ‘soul’

instead of salads and barbecues!

Autumn is one of my favourite food seasons due to the abundance of
produce available. It’s food to fall in love with and there is something
wonderfully comforting and warming about it. And fortunately for
us here on the peninsula, we are blessed with such easy access to
premium producers. One need only stop in at the Willunga or Victor
Harbor Farmers’ Markets, the Scoop Farm Gate Shop in Aldinga
or the many roadside stalls to put together a beautiful meal without
having to set foot in a supermarket.

This gnocchi dish I’m sharing with you is all about autumn flavours. It
is rich, earthy and deliciously comforting but I will warn you, it’s
filling. So perhaps adopt the ‘less is more’ approach when filling your
bowl. The silky creaminess of this meal pairs beautifully with Wirra
Wirra’s 2017 Church Block. The big, bold blend of cabernet, shiraz
and merlot delivers flavours of plum and dark scarlet berries, cutting
through the richness of this dish and complementing it perfectly. A
match made in heaven.

I get great satisfaction from the fact that this recipe is put together
almost solely with produce from our region. Potatoes from Virgara’s
Garden, mushrooms from P & L Mushrooms, eggs from Feather &
Peck, cream from Fleurieu Milk Company, olive oil from The Farm
at Willunga, parsley, thyme, lemons and garlic from Scoop. What’s
best is you can find all of these at the Willunga Farmers Market on a
Saturday morning. How lucky are we?

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do. See you at the
farmers’ markets!

Just a few things to note before you begin. There is a fine line
between good gnocchi – think light, fluffy potato clouds – and terrible
gnocchi – think gluey little bullets – but please don’t let that put you
off. It is actually very easy to make, so long as you follow these
simple rules:

FOOD & WINE