Gnocchi dough

500 gr potato agria yellow

250 g plain flour

Method:

Peel and cut the potatoes.

Boil in a large pot of salty water (bring the water up to a boil, then put the potatoes in) until just soft.

Drain and leave until cool enough to handle, then remove the skins.

Mash the potatoes using a potato ricer or masher on to a large clean board.

Sprinkle over the flour,  season well with sea salt, then scrunch and push the mixture together with clean hands. Depending on the potatoes, you may need to add a little more flour – use your common sense.

Knead on a flour-dusted surface for a few minutes until pliable, then divide into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a sausage about 2cm thick.

Slice into 3cm lengths – this is your basic gnocchi. Now you can gently roll each piece down a butter pat, the back of a fork or a fine grater to add grooves, which will help your sauce to stick, or simply roll into balls.

Bring a clean pot of salted water to the boil and cook gnocchi in batches so it’s not too crowded; it also means they’re less likely to break up. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes – as soon as they come up to the surface they’re ready.

Remove with a slotted spoon and toss with melted butter and finely grated Parmesan, or pesto.

Note: Jamie Oliver writes that when the gnocchi mix is made in advance, eggs are useful, but cooked this fresh you don’t need them. The fresher the mix, the lighter the gnocchi. “It’s an amazing gift to be able to make good gnocchi at home. It’s quick to cook, very cheap, and total comfort food.”

Fresh pesto sauce

●      1 bunch fresh basil, 80 grams

●      1 clove garlic, minced

●      50 g Parmesan cheese, grated (we use Reggiano or grano Padano)

●      30 g pecorino

●      150 g extra virgin olive oil

●      20 g pine nuts

Use a food processor and put in the pine nuts, cheese, garlic and salt. Mix. Add the basil. Mix again. Add 150 g olive oil. Blend to combine. For a creamier pesto, do it by hand in a mortar and pestle.

Tiramisu al Caffe'

Serves 4

250 gr of Mascarpone cheese (in NZ all the containers are 200gr so it’s ok to use this quantity instead)

2 eggs room temperature

6 tablespoons of white sugar

a pinch of salt

10/15 Lady fingers biscuits

Coffee

1 tablespoon of Rum or Marsala liquor (optional)

Cocoa powder

Method:

Divide the egg white and the yolks into 2 containers.

Mix 5 level tablespoons of sugar with the egg yolks until you get a creamy consistency and add the mascarpone cheese.

Separately whip the egg whites until it forms peaks and add them to the mascarpone cream;

Add 1 level table spoon of sugar to the coffee and one table spoon of liquor (optional)

Wet the biscuits with the coffee.

Put a few spoons of marcarpone cream at the bottom of a container and then one layer of biscuits.

Add another layer of cream . Repeat this process once more and cover the final layer with cocoa powder.

Leave it in fridge overnight (or make it in the morning if you want to eat it for dinner).