Nettle Gnocchi with Dandelion Greens

Ingredients:

For the Gnocchi:
3-4 waxy potatoes
125ml (1/2 cup) nettle leaves (dried or blanched) (Add more or less to your own taste)
180g (1 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour + extra for dusting
1 egg
Salt to taste
Herbes De Provence, to taste

For the Dandelion Greens:
250-500ml (1-2 cups) of dandelion greens
50g (1/3 cup) onion, chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
Olive oil

To Cook the Gnocchi:
75g (1/3 cup) butter
1 Sage leaf, sprig of Rosemary, sprig of thyme, or other herb of choice

To Garnish:
bunch of purple deadnettle

Method:

Bring a pan of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 20 minutes, until just tender. Drain in a colander and when cool enough to handle peel off their skins.

Bring another pan of lightly-salted water to a boil, add the nettle leaves and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, refresh under cold water and set aside to drain.

Combine the potatoes and nettles and pass through a ricer or use a food processor to purée until smooth. Mix in the flour, ensuring it's well combined.

Scrape the potato mixture into a bowl. Form a well in the centre, then add the egg and herbes de provence to taste and mix to combine. Work in a little more flour if the mixture is too sticky.

Once everything is well incorporated and easy to work with (not too sticky) cut the dough into 4 parts. Roll each dough ball into a long snake-like strip, about 3cm in diameter. Using a sharp knife or dough cutter divide each rope into pieces about 3cm long.

Using a fork or a gnocchi roller, press each piece lightly and roll to create grooves. Lightly sprinkle some flour on them to avoid their sticking together. Let the gnocchi rest for 20 minutes before cooking (alternatively you can freeze them at this point).

For the Fried Dandelion Greens: Place a pan over medium-low heat. When hot add a good glug of olive oil. When the oil is hot add the onion and sweat gently for about 18 minutes until lightly golden.

Wash the dandelion greens thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel. If you are not a big fan of the bitterness of dandelion greens then blanch them in salted water for 2 minutes then refresh in cold water and chop coarsely. If you're ok with the flavour simply coarsely chop the greens.

Add the spices to the sweated onions and stir fry for 2 minutes until aromatic. Now add the dandelion greens and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, until softened to your liking.

In the meantime, cook the gnocchi: Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Add the butter to a separate pan over how heat. Once the butter has melted add in your herb of choice. Add the gnocchi, in small patches, to the pan of boiling water. As soon as they float to the surface remove with a slotted spoon then set aside as you cook the next batch (work as quickly as you can here to keep everything warm).

Once the gnocchi are cooked drop them into the melted butter and fry gently with sturring until lightly golden on the outside.

Arrange the dandelion greens on a plate then arrange the gnocchi on top. Spoon over any remaining butter from the pan (discard the whole herbs).

Wash the purple deadnettles, detach the flowers and use to garnish your dish. Serve immediately.