Potato Gnocchi con Fonduta e Tartufo
Styling: Anita Parise
Blog: Renee Lenzarini
Photography: Anita Parise
Recipe & Inspiration: Truffle Kerfuffle – the beginning of Western Australia’s truffle season.
‘Truffle Kerfuffle’ – the celebration that opens Western Australia’s truffle season was on again this weekend. Using the festival as our inspiration, we have created a recipe that will keep you truffling along well into the season which runs from June to September.
You might just remember our truffle inspired recipe from this time last year: Tortellini with Mushroom Ragu`and Black Truffle. This rare ingredient pairs best with truffle flavour-carriers, which are foods that aren’t too intrusive in flavour and really allow the unique, delicate flavour of the truffle to shine. Think cheese, chicken, mushrooms, cauliflower, artichoke, scallops and champagne!
This time around, we had the opportunity to use a preserved black, Summer truffle from Italy – hence the Italian recipe name. Translated, the name means a cream of cheeses with truffle. As truffles also love butter, fat and potatoes, our new recipe involves an indulgent mix of Taleggio and Fontina cheeses which are both semi soft varieties. Although quite strong in aroma, Fontina cheese is mild in flavour by comparison. Although Taleggio is a bit more pungent, it adds a beautiful depth of flavour which complements the earthiness of the truffles.
Fonduta – yes you probably guessed it- it means fondue in Italian. Melted cheese is often combined with other ingredients such as cream, milk and eggs. Fonduta is commonly made from fontina cheese and is a dish often prepared in the Piemonte and Val d’Aosta regions of Northern Italy.
We think we have the flavour combinations just right with this recipe. A little goes a long way with this sought after ingredient, so we recommend a fine shaving of truffle to achieve the most favourable balance of flavours. While still very much delicious, we believe that the dish would have been enjoyed even more so, using fresh truffles. We found the preserved black truffle much more difficult to grate or shave thinly. As it is the ideal time of year, Manjimup’s fresh black truffles are readily available in most gourmet outlets.
Didn’t make it to Truffle Kerfuffle? No need to miss out on the festivities. Create your own dinner at home with a choice of these two recipes. Want to make a night of it? There are many restaurants across Perth that offer new dishes to welcome the season or a degustation menu (Crown Perth, Fraser’s Kings Park, Wildflower).
Enjoy the decadence of this creamy and indulgent dish GR clubbers. We love to hear from our customers, so please let us know about your most memorable truffle experience or your hands down favourite way to enjoy the diamond of the kitchen. Until the next truffle season! …
Renee, Anita & the GR team
Ingredients
- 500gms of GR Potato Gnocchi
- One black truffle (fresh or preserved)
- 70g of Tallegio cheese, diced
- 200g of Fontina cheese, diced
- 2 tbs of Pecorino Romano, grated (you could also use Parmiggiano)
- 60g of butter
- One egg yolk
- 2 x heaped tbsp of thickened cream
- 1 cup of milk (plus extra if you need more to cover the cheese)
- Salt and pepper to season
Method
*This recipe serves approx. 6 entree or 4 main portions.
- Prepare a large pot of salted water and bring to the boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce.
- Cut up the Taleggio and Fontina cheeses into rough but small pieces. Place in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of milk. Ensure that the cheese has been completely sub merged. Leave this mixture to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Next, place the cheese, milk, butter, cream, grated truffle and a good crack of fresh pepper, in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer (it is important to watch and whisk this constantly as you do not want it to boil or burn!).
- Drop in the egg yolk and whisk very quickly to ensure the mixture does not scramble (having the egg at room temperature helps with this step). Add in the grated cheese and continue to whisk until it thickens slightly. You will need to whisk this for approximately 7-10 minutes (again ensuring that it does not burn).
- By this stage the water should be boiling. Drop in the gnocchi and return to the boil. Cook the gnocchi for 5-6 minutes from frozen. * Note: Be aware that the texture should be soft but slightly firm. Overcooking will lead to rock hard dumplings!
- Working QUICKLY is the key to this next step. Swiftly drain the gnocchi and use some of the sauce to coat them. Serve immediately and pour more of the Fonduta sauce over them. Garnish with a little (or a lot) of gorgeous truffle shavings.
- As a variation, instead of using truffles you could opt for a few knobs of blue cheese and take this dish to another level!
