1 pound russet potatoes
1 egg
1 cup flour
½ cup Parmesan, grated
Sea salt to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste
1 whole nutmeg, tip grated (optional)
¼ cup vegetable oil

Method

Boil the potatoes whole until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through table mill onto clean pasta board.

Make well in center of potatoes and sprinkle all over with flour, using all the flour. Place egg and salt in center of well, and using a fork, stir into flour and potatoes, just like making normal pasta. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to the touch.

Set 2 quarts of water to boil in a large stockpot. Set up an ice bath nearby using 2 cups ice and 4 cups water. Roll a baseball-size ball of dough into a 3/4-inch diameter dowel and cut on a bias into 1-inch-long pieces. Dust with flour before handling and transferring to cook pot. To give the gnocchi a nice design and texture, press the pieces a few at the time with the tines of a fork, then roll each piece into itself with tine marks on the outside, or press and roll against a concave cheese grater. Drop these pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming and cooking similar pieces. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them to ice bath. Continue until all have been cooked. Let sit several minutes in bath until all have cooled off, and then drain from ice and water. Toss with vegetable oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.

To serve, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide chilled gnocchi into 2-4 small au gratin dishes. Pour wild mushroom cream sauce over the gnocchi and top with grated Parmesan, cracked pepper, and grated nutmeg (optional) and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. (Finish under the broiler/grill if necessary.)

Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 mixed wild mushrooms, dried and steeped in ¼ cup water, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced

Method

For the sauce, combine cream, sliced mushrooms, steeping water and garlic in a saucepot and reduce over low heat until thickened (about 20 minutes), whisking frequently.