Gnocchi with Morels and English Peas
Seared gnocchi with morels and English peas in a simple butter sauce with shallots, garlic, and Parmesan.
- Total Time30 minutes
- Yield1 serving 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 fresh whole morels, larger ones sliced in half length-wise
- 100 grams fresh gnocchi
- 4 tablespoons of butter,
- 20-25 grams (1/8 cup) fresh English peas, or thawed frozen peas
- 3 tablespoons vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan
- Optional: one lemon wedge, for a squeeze of fresh lemon juice upon serving
Instructions
- Rinse to clean the morels by dunking them in a bowl of water. Pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.*
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil.
- Once your salted water is boiling, add in the gnocchi. Allow it to cook for only 2 minutes, then strain – reserving just a little bit of the water for the sauce later – and set the gnocchi aside. Next, we are going to sear the gnocchi for some nice color and satisfyingly chewy texture.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat with just enough butter to coat the pan to prevent sticking. Once the pan is hot, place the gnocchi in the pan in one even layer, making sure they aren’t piled on top of each other. If you need to do more than one round of searing, that is fine. Allow the gnocchi to cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes, or until they are golden brown. If you are good at multitasking, you can do steps 5-9 while the gnocchi are searing. Otherwise, remove the seared gnocchi from the heat and set aside until step 10.
- Heat 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a pan over of medium heat. Once melted, add in the 2 cloves of minced garlic. Allow the garlic to cook for just 60-90 seconds, until it is aromatic but not browning.
- Then add in the finely chopped shallot and allow it to cook for another 60-90 seconds.
- Next, add the morels and toss to coat entirely. Add another tablespoon of butter (or more if needed) to ensure each morel is coated in the melted garlicky butter. Season to taste with salt.
- Allow them to cook for about 4-5 minutes, spooning the melted butter over them at the 2 minute mark to keep them nicely braised and coated.
- Add the vegetable stock, stirring it in to the butter and morels for a smooth consistency. Allow this to simmer and reduce for about 1 minute. If using frozen peas, you can add them in while the stock is simmering.
- Add in the seared gnocchi and, if using fresh peas, add those in now as well. Toss to mix everything together and coat the gnocchi in the sauce. Keep it all on the heat for another minute before plating.
- Plate the gnocchi and season with freshly cracked black pepper and a generous amount of grated Parmesan.
- Optional: A squeeze of lemon could lend a nice citrus note here as well, if it suits you.
Notes
One rinse is typically enough for store-bought morels or morels purchased at an outdoor market. Vendors will have pre-cleaned them, but one quick rinse will remove any remaining dirt or gritty bits. If you have freshly foraged morels, first of all – kudos! Secondly, they will required additional cleaning. You can read more about how to clean forage morels here.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
