Smoked Potato Gnocchi with...Smoked Potato Gnocchi with Sea Urchin and Bottarga

Delicate, lightly smoked potato gnocchi tossed in a luxurious sea urchin butter sauce, finished with shaved Sardinian bottarga and aromatic lemon verbena oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Bake potatoes on a bed of coarse salt at 200°C for 45 minutes until tender. Pass through a potato ricer while hot and spread on a baking sheet to cool slightly.

2. 02

   Cold-smoke the riced potato for 10 minutes using a smoking gun with hickory wood chips to infuse a subtle smoky aroma.

3. 03

   On a clean marble work surface, combine the smoked potato, Type 00 flour, egg yolk, sea salt, and nutmeg. Gently fold and knead until a soft, pillowy dough forms; do not overwork.

4. 04

   Roll the dough into long ropes (1.5cm thickness) and cut into elegant 2cm gnocchi pillows. Transfer to a tray lightly dusted with semolina flour.

5. 05

   To make the sauce emulsion, melt half of the butter in a wide pan over low heat. Add the Vermentino white wine and reduce by half. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining butter and half (50g) of the sea urchin to create a rich, creamy emulsion.

6. 06

   Blanch the gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiling water. Once they float to the surface, allow them to cook for one additional minute, then gently lift them out with a spider strainer.

7. 07

   Transfer the gnocchi directly into the sea urchin sauce. Toss very gently over low heat, adding a splash of pasta cooking water and the Meyer lemon juice to perfect the emulsified glaze.

8. 08

   Divide the glazed gnocchi among warm shallow bowls. Garnish with the remaining fresh sea urchin tongues, shave thin ribbons of Bottarga di Muggine over the top, and finish with a drizzle of vibrant lemon verbena oil.