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sweet potato and chestnut gnocchi, buttered Brussel sprout tops, cranberry purée, Suffolk Gold, pea shoots, crispy kale

Courses ,
Servings 4
Description

Chef’s note
Executive Head Chef Terry Balme at The Hog Hotel has created this lovely vegetarian wintery dish for you to try at home. 

Ingredients
    Gnocchi
  • 4 medium sized Maris Piper potatoes
  • 2 1 medium sized sweet potato
  • 2 eggs
  • 275 grams self-raising flour
  • 60 grams cooked chestnuts
  • Cranberry purée
  • 200 grams fresh cranberries
  • 180 grams caster sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Accompaniments
  • 50 grams local kale
  • 50 grams Brussel sprout tops (or individual leaves of sprouts if you can’t get the tops)
  • 200 grams Suffolk Gold cheese
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 100 grams plain flour
  • 100 grams panko breadcrumbs
  • 200 milliliters vegetable oil
  • 50 grams pea shoots
Instructions
    Gnocchi
  1. For the gnocchi, bake potatoes and sweet potato in the oven until soft. Once cooked, cut in half lengthways, scoop out the middle, and crush with a potato masher until smooth. If you have a sieve or a potato ricer, put them through for finer texture.

  2. Add the flour, egg, salt, and chopped chestnuts to the potato. Mix all the ingredients together until combined evenly. If the mixture is too wet, add more flour so it does not stick when you come to roll it.

  3. Have a large pan of salted simmering water on the stove. Roll out the gnocchi so it is roughly 2cm thick and cut into 2cm pieces. Drop a few handfuls of gnocchi at a time into the simmering water – be careful not to overcrowd the pan as it will reduce the temperature. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then plunge into cold water until the gnocchi is cold.

  4. Remove the gnocchi from the cold water and pat dry with a cloth. Place in an airtight container until you are ready to serve the dish.

  5. To make the cranberry purée, place the cranberries in a saucepan along with the sugar, cinnamon stick, and 50ml of water. Cook until they are soft and mushy. Remove the cinnamon stick and blend until smooth.

  6. For the sprouts, trim the stalky part off the sprout tops, so you are just left with the sprout leaves.

  7. To prepare the kale, remove the stalk so you are left with just the leaves of the kale. You can leave them large or tear them to make them smaller. Dry thoroughly, then fry in vegetable oil until there are no bubbles left coming from the leaves and they are very crispy. Remove from the oil, place on kitchen towel and season with sea salt. Cut the Suffolk Gold cheese into 2cm squares, or larger if you prefer a lot of cheese. Roll in the flour, then the egg yolk, and then the breadcrumbs. Leave out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.

  8. To assemble, put a medium-sized pan on the stove over a medium heat and add 20ml of vegetable oil and a knob of butter to the pan. Add eight pieces of gnocchi and cook in the pan until they turn a lovely nutty brown colour. Once they are cooked, turn the heat off, add the sprout tops, and gently toss them with the gnocchi.

  9. While the gnocchi are resting, deep fry the Suffolk Gold in the remaining oil, ideally at 180°C, until golden. Add dots of the cranberry purée on the plate, remove the gnocchi and sprout tops from the pan, and assemble in the centre.

  10. Place the Suffolk Gold and crispy kale around the plate. For added chestnut flavour, shave some over
    the final dish, then garnish with pea shoots

Note

The Hog Hotel in Pakefield is the area’s number one rated hotel and restaurant. Food is served Wednesday to Sunday – check the website for full menus and opening times. 

Visit www.thehoghotel.co.uk or call 01502 569 805 to book.