Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Potatoes: More than a Bit on the Side/ Bord Bia.
When I was asked to take part in Bord Bia’s 'Potatoes: More than A Bit on the Side’ campaign I didn’t think twice… I absolutely LOVE potatoes.
As you probably guessed, this campaign aims to encourage people to eat more potatoes as a core component of their meals, rather than just limiting them to a side dish. Indeed, potatoes are so versatile that it would be a pity to just serve them as an accompaniment when they can be the shining star of a lunch or a dinner!
Besides the fact that they’re easy to cook, they’re also healthy and nutritious (gluten-free, naturally fat-free, a source of fibre and potassium) so there’s no excuse not to include beautiful Irish spuds into your diet.
I’ve decided to share one of my favourite things to make with potatoes: gnocchi. I’m a bit obsessed with dumplings in general and gnocchi are in my top five kinds of dumpling. They’re incredibly simple to make and definitely something you can rustle up for a weekday dinner.
Once you’ve made gnocchi from scratch I can assure you that you won't want to eat the shop-bought ones again… They’re so much better! Gnocchi only require three ingredients and then you can use a sauce of your choice. I love them with sage butter but it works as well with a tomato or creamy sauce of course.
Make sure to visit potatoe.ie for more potato recipes or to follow them on Twitter (@Tastypotatoes), Facebook (Potatoes: More than a bit on the side), Instagram (@potatoes_morethanabitontheside) and Pinterest.
Gnocchi with sage butter
Serves 6 as a main course
Preparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 5 min
Ingredients:
For the gnocchi
900g of floury Irish potatoes
200g flour
1 egg
salt
pepper
For the sage butter
100g butter
10 sage leaves (thinly sliced)
To serve: grated Parmesan cheese
· Cook the potatoes in about two pints of salted boiling water for about 15 minutes over a medium heat.
· Pour out most of the water from the saucepan when the potatoes are half cooked (leave about 2.5 cm) and cook for another 15 minutes.
· Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and mash them until smooth.
· Stir in the flour, egg, some salt and pepper and mix with a wooden spoon until you get a soft dough consistency.
· Place the dough on a slightly floured surface and gently knead.
· Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll them into a long sausage shape (approx. 1.5cm diameter).
· Cut into 2 cm pieces and roll each one over the tines of a fork to create little ridges.
· Place the gnocchi on a flour dusted baking sheet and leave in the fridge until ready to cook.
· When ready to eat, cook the gnocchi in batches in a large sauce pan of salted boiling water (for about 3 minutes), until they rise to the surface.
· Use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi from the pan and set aside in a warm dish.
· Melt the butter in a large saucepan until it foams, add the sage leaves and leave them to crisp.
· Toss the gnocchi in the melted butter and crispy leaves to coat them.
· Divide the gnocchi between the plates, season to taste and sprinkle some grated Parmesan over them.
Enjoy!