Good Fish_ Sustainable Seafood Recipes From the Pacific Coast - Becky Selengut [50]
Make the Nettle Gnocchi.
Add the reserved blanched nettles, parsley, yogurt, salt, olive oil, and mushroom stock to the bowl of a food processor and blend well (for up to 3 minutes), until smooth. Push the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer if you desire a smoother texture. Season to taste with pepper. Set aside.
Boil the Nettle Gnocchi (see page 130) and set aside.
Smoke the halibut according to the instructions on page 131.36 Alternatively, you can pan-sear it: In a large sauté pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Season the halibut with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the halibut to the pan and cook it until browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the fillets carefully and continue cooking until the fish is just flaking, for a total of 8 minutes per inch of fish (measured at its thickest point). Transfer the fish to a platter. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the pan and then the morels and gnocchi. Sauté until the edges of the mushrooms crisp up a little, 4 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
To serve, ladle a small amount of nettle sauce in the center of each of 4 plates. Carefully spoon a portion of the morels and gnocchi to one side of the sauce. Top with a piece of halibut and garnish with salmonberry blossoms.
PAIRING: A white Sancerre from the Loire Valley, such as Lucien Crochet 2007, or a California sauvignon blanc.
NETTLE GNOCCHI
1¼ cups packed nettle leaves37
2 pounds (about 2 large)
russet potatoes
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus
additional for kneading
¼ teaspoon salt
SERVES 4 TO 6
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
To prepare the nettles for both the gnocchi and the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water heats, fill a medium bowl with ice water. When the water is boiling, using gloves or tongs, carefully add the nettles, making sure they are submerged. Cook for exactly 5 minutes. Remove them immediately with a slotted spoon or tongs and plunge them into the ice bath. When the nettles have cooled, remove them from the ice bath and with your hands squeeze out all the water. Finely chop the nettles. Divide into two portions: set aside ¼ cup for making the gnocchi and reserve 1 cup for making the sauce.
Pierce the potatoes all over with the tines of a fork. Bake them in the oven directly on a rack for about 1 hour, flipping them after 30 minutes, until they are tender. While they are still hot (and using towels to protect yourself), slip the potato skins from the potato and discard. Run the potato and nettles through a ricer or food mill, or mash the potatoes really well by hand and then mash the nettles into the potatoes. Cool on a baking sheet.
When the potatoes are cool, transfer them to a bowl and stir in the egg, flour, and salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then knead the dough in the bowl until it forms a ball, adding more flour if necessary. Transfer the dough to a wooden board and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about ¾ inch in diameter. When all the pieces are rolled out, cut each rope into gnocchi approximately ¾-inch long. If desired, use a fork to press down the gnocchi, lightly dragging it back to shape them. For a different look, you can pick up the gnocchi and roll them off the tines of the fork.
To freeze the gnocchi for later use, place them on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet (make sure they are not touching each other), and put them in the freezer for about 1 hour. When the gnocchi are frozen, transfer them to a resealable plastic bag and use within 3 months.
If cooking the gnocchi immediately, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season the water generously with salt and add the gnocchi in batches. Cook until they float to the surface and then,