Rustic Turnip Gnocchi in a Sage Butter Sauce

This recipe will change your mind about turnips. The sweet hint of the turnips combined with the potatoes tossed in a sage butter sauce is the perfect balance of flavours.

Peel the turnips & chop into medium sized cubes. Boil the turnips in salty water till soft. Drain the water and place on a low heat for 30 seconds or so to evaporate any excess water. Gently shaking the pot as it can burn.

Mash the turnips well. (You can blitz in a) Place the mashed turnips into a clean tea towel or muslin cloth and squeeze out any excess water. Set-aside.

Scrub cleans the potatoes clean leaving the skin on. Place the potatoes with the skin on into a pot and boil. Boil till a knife can go through you don’t want the potatoes to be too soft as it will be too mushy.

When cooked remove the skins keeping the fluffy potato inside. Mash the potatoes while they are still hot as mashing cold potatoes causes lumps.

Add the turnips to the mashed potatoes.

Place a sieve over a bowl.  It's best to do this part in batches. Place a 1/3 of the mixture into the sieve. Using the back of a spoon push the turnips and potato mixture through the sieve to remove any lumps.

Add the turnip and potato mixture onto a clean work surface. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the flour and knead till combined. You may need to Add extra flour depending on how wet the mixture is.

Ensuring to dust the work surface with flour as needed, knead the dough for a few minutes till pliable. Divide the dough into three pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long sausage like shape. Using a knife cute the dough into equal size pieces.

Bring a large pot of salted boiling water to the boil. Its best to cook the gnocchi in batches. Add the gnocchi to the pot giving a quick stir to ensure they are not sticking together.

Cook till the gnocchi floats to the top. (2-3) minutes. Remove and place on a clean tea towel to absorb any water.

Heat a large drying pan with oil. Fry the gnocchi till golden brown this will give you slightly crispy on the outside soft in the side texture.

TO MAKE THE SAGE BUTTER SAUCE:

Melt the butter in a frying Pan, add the sage leaves (stalks removed) fry till crispy. (It’s best to keep heat at a medium heat as the butter tends to burn fast.

To Assemble: Place the gnocchi into a bowl, pour over the sage and butter sauce, freshly grated parmesan, and pine nuts. Season with black pepper and serve.