15 MINUTES SMOKED SALMON, CREME FRAICE & CORNICHON GNOCCHI

After a week of Christmas parties, lots of wine and stodgy food I was after a delicious, quick and not too indulgent dinner that would sort this slightly worse for wear 31 year old out in an instant.

Craving smoked salmon and some sort of carb, but not wanting to revert to my usual and very heavy smoked salmon and cream pasta, I found this amazing and super easy to make gnocchi recipe online and it may just be new favourite!

The sauce which is essentially chopped up cornichon, cornichon juice, creme fraiche and fresh dill may sound odd but works a real treat when combined with slices of smoked salmon, broad beans and the gnocchi which are fried in some butter to get them nice and crispy! 

Quick, tasty, comforting - what else could you want!!!

SERVES 2

• 125g frozen broad beans 
• 25g butter 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 x 500g pack chilled gnocchi 
• 150ml crème fraîche 
• 5 small cornichons, chopped, plus 2 tbsp of pickling liquid 
• 1 pack dill, chopped 
• 200g pack smoked salmon

METHOD

• Put the broad beans in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to defrost.
• Heat the butter and oil over a medium heat in a non-stick frying pan that’s large enough to hold the gnocchi in a single layer. 
• Once the butter has melted, add the gnocchi and toss in the fat until evenly coated, then fry undisturbed for 2 minutes
• Toss the gnocchi to turn and fry for another 2-3 minutes, stirring until golden on all sides. 
• Drain the broad beans.
• Turn off the heat and stir through the crème fraîche and pickling liquid followed by most of the cornichons and dill, plus the broad beans
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the pan from the hob completely and stir through three-quarters of the smoked salmon.
• Divide the gnocchi between two bowls and top with the reserved gherkins, dill and smoked salmon. 
• Serve with a grinding of black pepper.

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH RAMEN

Although butternut squash is most definitely not the most traditional of ramen ingredients, it works an absolutely treat in this nearly vegan (omit the egg and replace the egg noodles with a vegan friendly alternative) ramen that may just be my favourite every homemade noodle soup yet!!!

The combo of curry and roasted butternut squash is a revelation, with 2/3 of the roasted squash used as the most wonderful base for a broth that will knock your socks when combined with miso, chilli oil, veg stock and fresh ginger.

The last third, kept in the oven a little longer to caramelise the squash, is just one of the delicious toppings that finish off the outstanding ramen, alongside chargrilled pak choy and corn on the cob and the most perfectly still in the middle gooey cooked egg.

I slurped up every last bite of this ramen and I am already thinking about making this for supper again VERY soon - a new fav!

SERVES 2-3

INGREDIENTS

1 largeButternut Squash
2 tbsp Curry Powder
2 tbsp White Miso Paste
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Chilli Oil
1Vegetable Stock Pot
1½ L Boiling Water
25g Ginger
4 Cloves Garlic
3 Pak Choi
2 Corn On The Cobs

100g beansprouts
4 Eggs
400g Instant Noodles or Egg Noodles
Vegetable Oil

METHOD

• Begin by preheating the oven to 180°C.
• Peel your butternut squash. 
• Deseed and chop into chunks.
• Add the squash into a roasting tray with a glug of vegetable oil, a big pinch of salt and half of your curry powder. 
• Mix together and whack it into the oven for 40 mins until the squash is soft and tender. 
• Stir halfway through.
• At this point, remove 2/3’s of the butternut squash from the oven and pop the remaining 1/3 back in for another 15 minutes until it becomes browned and caramelised.
• Add the 2/3’s of the squash into a blender along with the white miso, the rest of your curry powder, sesame oil, chilli oil and the vegetable stock pot. 
• Add in a small splash of water and blitz until you have a fine butternut squash paste.
• Finely chop the knob of ginger and grate the garlic cloves. Add the ginger and garlic into a deep saucepan with a splash of vegetable oil. 
• Fry on low to medium heat. 
• Just before it begins to colour add the butternut paste and cook for around a minute.
• Just before the butternut paste starts to catch add in boiling water. Stir it together and bubble down on a medium heat until you have a thick broth consistency (looser than a soup).
• Meanwhile, quarter your pak choi. Get a griddle pan on the heat and when hot add in the quartered pak choi and corn on cobs (if you do not have a griddle pan use a non-stick frying pan without oil). 
• Griddle for 3-4 minutes on both sides until charred. Once cooked set aside.
• Step 9. 
• Time to boil the eggs. 
• Boil for 5 minutes, remove and add into a bowl of icy water to stop the eggs from cooking. 
• Remove after a few minutes and peel away the shell.
• Get your noodles and bean sprouts and chuck them into the broth. 
• Cook for 3-4 minutes
• Time to serve up the ramen!
• Into a bowl, add a handful of noodles and fill with ramen broth. 
• Cut off the corn off the cob and add into the bowl along with the pak choi. 
• Take the caramelised butternut squash from the oven and place that in the bowl. Chop your runny egg in half and add on top. 
• Drizzle over with more chilli oil and enjoy!