by Chef Alyssa Wilen
Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen
Serves 4
Gnocchi:
12 oz. (1½ cups packed) ricotta, strained
2 large eggs, lightly mixed
Zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
8 to 10 oz. (½ to ¾ cup) 00 flour
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- Strain the ricotta by placing it in cheesecloth over a strainer for at least 2 hours or overnight. The dryer it is, the less flour you will need.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, lemon zest and parmesan cheese using a rubber spatula or bowl scraper. Season with salt and pepper.
- Fold in ¼ cup of flour plus 1 Tbsp. and mix well to incorporate.
- Bring a well-salted pot of water to a boil. While it heats, scoop about 1/5 of the dough onto a floured work surface and gently roll it into a cylinder. You should do this gently and by holding your fingers and palm straight and flat. Once the cylinder is stretched to a rope about ¼” thick, cut it into ½” pieces.
- Prepare a sheet tray drizzled with olive oil and set it aside.
- When the water is boiling, test a piece of the gnocchi and if it floats without breaking, you can cook the rest of the formed pieces.
- Be sure to cook the gnocchi in boiling water and don’t add them all at once in the pot. Once they float to the top, allow them to cook for an additional minute and spoon them out and out place them on a sheet tray and coat with oil. Alternately, if the sauce is already made, you can place the gnocchi directly into the sauce.
Spring Onion Soubise:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
5 to 6 small spring onions (golf ball size), thinly sliced
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup vegetable or chicken stock
Juice of ½ lemon
Splash of sherry vinegar
1 tsp Vadouvan spice (optional)
Ground white pepper, to taste
½ pound blanched asparagus, cut to 2” pieces
Garnishes: chives, chive flowers, red vein sorrel, parmesan
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions along with a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and most liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Increase the heat to brown the onions, add a pinch of salt, and sauté until evenly golden.
- Stir in cream and stock and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until thickened. Transfer hot onions and cream to a blender. Add lemon juice and sherry along with Vadouvan if using, and blend, starting at low speed and gradually increasing to high, until a smooth sauce forms.
- Pass sauce through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on solids with a rubber spatula. Return onion sauce to saucepan and season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm.
- Add gnocchi and cook until warmed through and then asparagus.
- Plate the gnocchi and top with various garnishes.