gnocchi with blue cheese and fennel sauce

I had to try a few different recipes to get this right, and ended up just sort of improvising. I LOVED the way this turned out. I served it with a fennel and blue cheese sauce which was so rich and creamy, and a great complementary flavour to the soft, potatoey dough.

You will need:

2 x potatoes (small - medium size)

1.5 cups plain white flour (approximately)

1 organic free range egg

Salt and Pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

What to do:

Peel your potatoes and slice them into 2cm x 2cm cubes. Put in a pot of simmering water and cook until really, really soft. I cooked mine for about 25 minutes.

Strain through a colander. Put in a large bowl and mash until completely lump free, and nice and fluffy.

Beat the egg in a small bowl and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour the egg into the middle of the potato and stir quickly. Add the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, and keep stirring.

You want the dough to form a solid consistency. It will always be a little sticky, so don't expect it to get elastic like pizza or bread dough, but it should hold together and be malleable. Once you have achieved this, sprinkle some flour onto cling film, wrap the dough up tightly and refrigerate for 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, make your sauce. Some people like really simple sauces with gnocchi, such as sage butter or parmesan and garlic all'olio, but hey, for me, any excuse to add cream, cheese and garlic. Mmm. I fried off garlic, onion and fennel until translucent but not browned, then deglazed the pan with 1/2 glass of dry white wine. Turn the heat really low and simmer for 10 minutes, then add 1/2 cup cream and some blue cheese. Stir thoroughly. Season. Leave on the lowest heat possible until ready to serve.

Once your dough has rested in the fridge, chop it into quarters or thirds. Roll each section into a long snake, about 1.5 cm wide. Use a knife to slice it at 1.5cm length notches and transfer to a floured plate.

Bring a large saucepan to the boil and add the gnocchi in batches (don't over crowd the pan). The gnocchi need only a minute or two. Once they float to the top, they are good to go! Add to your sauce and garnish with strong parmesan cheese or vintage cheddar. Delicious!

Will I make this again? Absolutely. Cheap, cheerful, and bloody delicious. It tasted really, really great. Sure, it's comfort food but it's fresh and special. Next time I'll probably get adventurous and add some different cheeses and herbs to the gnocchi - like some finely chopped sage and perhaps a goats cheese. Delicious.