RECIPE: Devon Gnocchi

By [rrothery]

NORTH Devon in March. Green shoots and leaves looking all the more beautiful as we haven't seen them for the long grey winter. Their hardy unfurling gives cheer — a sign that soon the rhythm of growing and harvesting will be in full stride.

These early greens — saw toothed kale, ruffled chard, dimpled spinach, hearty spring greens and for foragers, young nettles and dandelion leaves — are all deep green, astringent and sharp to wake up your palette and perk up your meal time.

Milk, cream and fresh cheese have a different flavour now as dairy cows are eating fresh green grass again, after their winter diet of hay.

If you go to your local farmers' market this month, you will come home with a bag or two of dripping wet, sparkling fresh spring leaf. Any local farmers' market near you will have an abundance of these. I plundered the Barnstaple Pannier Market, where I found greens from Stoke Rivers, Braunton, Holsworthy, Bideford and the outskirts of Barnstaple itself. And I got to ask the farmers when the greens were picked. "This morning!" I was told, with gentle indignation — as if I should have known.

I have also found a flavourful cheese for grating from Middle Campscott Farm: Campscott Ewe's cheese — salty, dry, packed full of flavour and some might think it knocks spots off a parmesan.

Devon Gnocchi

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the gnocchi:

300g ricotta

800g mixed greens

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

Splash of olive oil for stir frying

Large pinch of basil and oregano

A large pinch of sea salt

A grinding or two of black pepper

A generous grating of nutmeg

150g plain flour, plus some for dusting

2 free-range eggs

100g Campscott Ewe's Cheese or parmesan, plus some extra for garnish

For the tomato sauce

A splash of olive oil

2 peeled, finely chopped cloves of garlic

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

2 x 400g tins of tomatoes

Generous pinch of salt

A pinch of a dried chilli (such as the 'Sport Pepper' from the South Devon Chilli Farm)

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley — garnish

1. Make the gnocchi

Wash and finely chop the greens. Drop them into boiling water for two to three minutes and drain. This is to remove some of the bitter, earthy oxalic acid. Stir-fry with the garlic in the oil for about three minutes; transfer them to a mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well. Take spoonfuls of the mixture, roll in some flour and make little oblong balls, the size of a date.

2. Tomato Sauce

Put the aromatic veg in a saucepan with oil and cover. Sweat them for about 10 minutes until limp but not coloured. Add the other ingredients and reduce.

3. Cook the gnocchi

Put the gnocchi into a wide, shallow saucepan full of boiling water; simmer for 10 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon into pasta bowls. Ladle the sauce over the top. Serve with generous gratings of Middle Campscott Ewe's or parmesan cheese.

I SPEND a fair bit of time sourcing local food for our kitchen but even if it wasn't part of my day job to do this, I would still be out there ducking into independent speciality shops, bumping down country lanes to humble farm shops, searching out working farms, seeking out orchards and visiting the fish mongers who get their catch off the trawler boats in Ilfracombe and Appledore.

I'd drive home with a big ear-to-ear grin, knowing I'd found something prized, special and top class. In this monthly column I'll be exploring ingredient-led cooking, totally inspired by what is grown in and around North Devon.