DORSET BLUE VINNY GNOCCHI WITH A CREAMY WHITE WINE MUSHROOM BLUE VINNY SAUCE

Glorious light fluffy melt in your mouth buttery pillows of heaven tossed through a cream and blue vinny wild mushroom cream sauce.

If you’ve never had Dorset Blue Vinny cheese I urge you to either drive to West Dorset or order direct from the farm to be delivered to your door, (Dorset Blue.com).  It is a gorgeous creamy light blue cheese like no others that lends itself to complimenting all dishes without over powering in flavour.  Blue Vinny was once made in every farmhouse in Dorset until the 2nd world war, 40 years ago Woodbridge Farm resurrected a 300 year old recipe. Blue Vinny is traditionally eaten with Moore’s Dorset Knob Biscuits, these again are a old heritage tradition from Morcombelake West Dorset for the last 130 years a small family run business near Bridport makes two million of these three times baked crispy dry bread rolls only in January and February and when their gone their gone until next year!  This is due to the 10 hour process of baking makes these biscuits not financially viable to produce all the time.

West Dorset’s Treasure

Ingredients

(serves 4)

Gnocchi 

500g King Edward floury potatoes

240g 00 gnocchi Italian flour (caputo)

More flour for dusting 

1 egg beaten 

200g blue vinny cheese crumbled

Himalayan sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper 

Wild Mushroom Sauce 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 small shallot finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely chopped 

100g wild ceps sliced

50g wild chanterelles sliced

100g chestnut mushrooms finely chopped

100g oyster mushrooms torn

1 lemon zest and juice

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

250ml white wine

600ml double cream

200g blue vinny cheese crumbled

Himalayan sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper

Gnocchi 

Boil your potatoes with the skin on, drain and leave to steam dry in a colander, once cool enough to handle peel the skins off by hand, mash the potatoes then gently fold in the beaten egg, blue vinny cheese chunks, flour, salt and pepper until just combined.  Divide the slightly crumbled mixture into four on a lightly floured work top and mould, shape and roll each quarter of the mixture into a long sausage around the thickness of a ten pence coin.

Cut one inch sections off the gnocchi sausage, these then will need to be gently rolled on a gnocchi board or a butter pat or just a fork to create grooves in the gnocchi that will hold extra sauce.

Wild Mushroom Sauce 

Before you cook the gnocchi make the sauce, heat the olive oil and butter and lightly sear the sliced ceps, chanterelles and oyster mushrooms for 1-2 minutes, remove from the pan and reserve to one side.  Add the shallot and garlic to the pan, soften for five minutes, add the diced chestnut  mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, add the wine, deglaze the pan and reduce the wine by half, the add the cream, lemon zest and nutmeg.  Simmer until slightly thickened, add back the seared mushrooms and season with salt and pepper I like to add some lemon juice at this point to taste and that’s the sauce done!  Keep warm while you cook the gnocchi.

To cook the Gnocchi bring a pan of sea salted water to a gentle rolling simmer, drop in the gnocchi and cook for around two minutes, the gnocchi will float as soon as it’s cooked, remove from the pan with a sieve and add to your warm sauce, toss and serve immediately, finish the dish with a smattering of Parmesan shavings and sprinkling or rocket.