Behind the Recipes

Prune-Stuffed Gnocchi with Foie Gras-Vin Santo Glaze by Chef Barbara Lynch

PREPARATION:

1. Place 20 prunes in a small saucepan with 1 cup of Madeira; add a little more if needed to cover the prunes completely. Cook the prunes over medium heat, reducing the amount of liquid until the pan is almost dry, about 30 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

2. Chop the prunes very finely.

3. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a medium pot of salted water. Bring water to a boil and cook until tender (a metal cake tester inserted should pull out easily).

4. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool just until you're able to handle them. Peel the potatoes while still quite hot (the skin will come off more easily) and rice them into a large bowl or onto a baking sheet to cool. You can refrigerate them to expedite the cooling process.

5. Set the cooled potatoes onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of flour over the potatoes and mix the flour into the potatoes using your fingers. Gently gather the potatoes into a mound. Create a well in the center of the mound.

6. Whisk together the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a small bowl and pour them into the well. Add a few grinds of black pepper and nutmeg. Using your fingers, combine all of the ingredients. Knead the dough, sprinkling on a little more flour as needed, just until it forms a ball. The dough should feel delicate and a bit sticky.

7. Set the dough aside and clean the work surface of any hard bits of dough.

8. Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour. Roll out half of the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, punch out rounds of the dough.

9. Re-roll the scraps and cut out as many circles as you can. Line the circles in rows for easy, efficient, assembly-line stuffing. If you have room, roll out the second half of dough; if not, do this after batch of gnocchi has been stuffed and shaped but do work without interruption (continued on back), as the potato dough will become less easy to work with as it sits.

10. Have ready a parchment-lined, lightly floured sided baking sheet or similar platter in a size that will fit in your freezer. Put about a teaspoon of the chopped prunes in the center of each dough circle, leaving a 1/2-inch margin all around. You can seal the dough by pressing the edges together with your fingers. For a better seal and more uniform look, use a slightly smaller round cookie cutter to trim 1/4 inch off the rounded side of the gnocchi.

11. Next, flip up the half moon so that its rounded edge is down on the work surface. Use a finger to put a little indent (1/4 inch deep) in the middle of the upward-facing side. The indentation will help the gnocchi to hold the sauce. After stuffing and shaping the gnocchi, transfer them to the flour-lined baking sheet. Keep them apart to avoid sticking.

12. Freeze the gnocchi on the sheet. Once they are rock-solid, you can transfer them into an air-tight container.

13. Repeat the entire process with the second half of the dough.

14. To make the sauce, pass the room temperature foie gras through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl (this is easier than it sounds; the strainer removes all small veins for a smooth sauce). Use a wooden spoon to combine the foie gras and butter.

15. Shape the butter into a log on a piece of plastic wrap, parchment or waxed paper. Wrap it well and refrigerate until firm.

16. Meanwhile, put the shallot, thyme, peppercorns, and coriander in a medium saucepan. Pour 2 cups of the Vin Santo (or Madeira) into the pan and cook on high heat until the liquid has reduced practically to a glaze.

17. Lower the heat to medium-low, and whisk in about 1/6 of the foie gras butter. As it melts, add a little more. When all of the foie gras butter has been whisked in, pass the sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Keep the sauce warm (but not hot) as you finish the dish.

18. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Warm six rimmed plates or shallow bowls. Slice the remaining foie gras into 1/2 inch slices.

19. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the foie gras and cook until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

20. Reheat the sauce if necessary over medium-low heat. If the sauce gets too hot, the foie gras-butter emulsion can break; if that happens, whisk in a little hot water just before serving.

21. Cook the gnocchi in batches gently lowering 5 or 6 of them at a time into the water. The gnocchi are done when they rise to the top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon or Chinese mesh strainer and keep warm until all the gnocchi are cooked.

Plating:

Divide the gnocchi among the six warm plates with each gnocco facing upward. Spoon the sauce over the gnocchi, top each plate with sliced foie gras, almonds, prunes, and chervil. Finish with a pinch of fleur de sel.

Make ahead: The stuffed gnocchi will keep for weeks in the freezer and can go right from the freezer to the pot. The foie gras sauce can be made ahead and either chilled or frozen. If frozen, let it thaw for a day in the refrigerator before reheating over low heat. Add 1/4 cup of cream to the pan to help the sauce stay emulsified.

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