Get in the spring spirit with DeadHungry’s wisteria gnocchi recipe

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Welcome to week five of ‘Dine In With @DeadHungry’, Dazed’s Instagram cooking series with chef and photographer Alex Paganelli. Now we’re officially past the April showers and have entered the glorious month of May, this week’s recipe is all about spring. Namely: wisteria gnocchi.

As previously discussed, the series has already made you a cooking pro, meaning you’re now ready to try your hand at some adventurous pre-cooking, AKA foraging. As Paganelli says, now is the time to “use your government-mandated walk” to track down some wisteria for your recipe. As well as tasting delicious, the final product might even replace the mandatory “spring has sprung” IG post – plus it let’s you show off your gnocchi-making skills. Two birds!

@DeadHungry’s previous recipes include kimchi pizza, a crab omelette, la socca, and a mushroom karaage sandwich. Tune into Dazed’s IGTV every Tuesday to see Paganelli’s latest tutorial, and watch this week’s below.

WISTERIA GNOCCHI

It’s officially spring, so we’re doing florals this week. Though Miranda Priestly may not find it groundbreaking, wisteria is in season right now, and it looks just as good on your plate as it did in the background of every influencer’s “spring has sprung!” Instagram posts from back when we were allowed outside. Use your government-mandated walk to see if you can find some – foraging is fun and shockingly, yes, possible in London – but please be sure you only eat what you’re sure is safe to eat. A disclaimer: ONLY eat the petals of the wisteria – the seeds are mildly poisonous and will give you a stomach ache if eaten. If you don’t want to live life on the edge, or you can’t find wisteria where you are, you can still learn how to make the gnocchi part of the recipe. It’s great on its own, and as a vehicle for whatever toppings you want to try. 

FOR FANS OF: Healthy, bright plates of spring, May Queens, edible equivalents of Caroline Calloway flower crowns

YOU WILL NEED

FOR THE GNOCCHI:

Potatoes (fluffy type)

Flour (plain or gluten free)

Rock salt

Herbs (loads of them)

TO ASSEMBLE:

Tenderstem broccoli

Wild spinach

Wisteria petals, or any other edible flower you managed to forage*

A selection of herbs 

Cream (or soy cream for a dairy-free alternative) 

Pine nuts (toasted and salted)

(*please only eat what you are sure won’t make you ill)

METHOD

FOR THE GNOCCHI:

1. Prick the potatoes with a knife. Lay on a bed of rock salt, bake at 180ºC for 1 hour 30 mins to 2 hours until nice and soft
2. While still hot, halve the potatoes and discard the salt. Pass through a potato ricer or a strong sieve. Alternatively press using a potato masher, until you have a soft, smooth texture
3. Weigh the mashed potato and add 20g of fine salt and 300g of flour to every kilo of potato
4. While still hot, bring the dough together roughly, add 30g of chopped herbs, and knead for about 3 minutes until the dough is smooth. Don’t overwork it, it’s not a bread dough!
5. Shape the gnocchi. Make sure they don’t stick to one another when shaping them by dusting flour if you have to. Don’t pile them up
6. Poach in a pot of boiling water with salt by dropping the gnocchi in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot. Once they float, take them out and put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process
7. Drain, add a drizzle of olive oil. At this stage, they can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days until ready to use

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Heat a stainless-steel skillet preferably. Keep on medium to high heat the whole way through
2. Drizzle olive oil into the pan. Add the roughly chopped tender stem broccoli. Season. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. They will get nicely coloured and charred at the tips
3. Add the finely chopped onion. Cook for 1 minute, stir constantly
4. Add the roughly chopped giant spinach leaves, stems included. Season, and add olive oil if needed. Cook for no longer than 30 seconds, keep on stirring
5. Add the cold, cooked gnocchi. Season. Cook for a couple of minutes. At this point, if using stainless steel, the pan should start to stick. That’s a good sign, onions and gnocchi are getting caught in the steel. It’s an important step to develop flavour into the sauce. Keep stirring making sure nothing gets ruined or completely stuck to the pan 
6. Add the cream or soy cream. Lower the heat, cook it for a minute maximum, until the sticky bits at the bottom of the pan have ‘melted’ into the sauce. Season to taste
7. Dress with: freshly chopped herbs, toasted and salted pine nuts, a generous handful of roughly chopped wisteria petals (petals only, discard the flower, make sure the petals are clean!)