Blue Cheese and Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi are little Italian dumplings. They can be served as they are or tossed into a salad for non-meat eaters but are equally good, if not better, as a garnish for beef steaks, grilled venison or chicken.

Ingredients:

7 large baking potatoes
600 g plain flour
3 eggs
3 yolks
20 g butter
20 g chopped parsley
20 g chopped chives
Salt and pepper
a little vegetable oil

Method:

1. Rub the potatoes with oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until tender. In the meantime bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.

2. Cut the baked potatoes in half and scoop the insides into a bowl. Quickly stir in the other ingredients and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a plain ½" nozzle.

3. Holding the piping bag in one hand squeeze the mix into the simmering water while you snip off ½" lengths with a sharp knife (or scissors) held in the other hand.

Ideally, the mix should be warm when you use it otherwise it will become terribly difficult to pipe. Dipping your knife in the water regularly should prevent the mix from sticking to it.

4. Unless you have the reflexes of a cat there is no way you could pipe the entire mix in one load - by the time the last few Gnocchi are cooked the first ones will be like bullets. Just pipe a dozen at a time, remove them with a slotted spoon when they float and plunge into ice-cold water. Repeat until the mix is all used then drain well and chill until needed.

5. When you want to eat them, place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a splash of oil and a knob of butter. Only cook a handfull of gnocchi at a time, cooking for a couple of minutes until golden, then flip over and repeat. Remove and drain on kitchen paper, toss with crumbled blue cheese to taste and serve.

Apart from the obvious vegetarian option, these Gnocchi are particularly delicious served with a med-rare "steak" cut from a venison loin and a little pepper relish.