Dairy
Yield: 6
Gnocchi
1 cup port wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 4-ounce pieces of smoked salmon, skins reserved
2 – 3 cups whole milk
¼ cup chopped chives, for garnish
12 chive tips, 3 inches long, for garnish
Prepare the Gnocchi and keep warm.
Heat the port in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced to a syrup (about 10 minutes). Don not boil. Let cool.
In a nonstick skillet, heat the oil and cook the salmon skin until crispy. Set aside.
Place the salmon in a baking dish large enough to hold it comfortably. Heat the milk but do not allow it to boil. Pour enough milk over the salmon to cover and let it steep for 3 minutes.
To serve, spoon the gnocchi onto serving plates. Drain the salmon and arrange on top of the gnocchi. Garnish with crisp salmon skin, chopped chives and chive tips. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the port syrup around the gnocchi.
Gnocchi (Italian Potato Dumplings):
2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks
salt and pepper
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Boil the potatoes in a large pot over medium heat until soft. Peel and pass through a potato ricer into a large mixing bowl. While still warm, add the flour, egg yolks, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Spoon the potato mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a #8 plain tip and pipe the mixture into long ropes on a floured surface. Cut into ¾ -inch pieces and roll the gnocchi, one by one, over the tines of a fork to produce a ribbed effect. Blanch the gnocchi in boiling salted water until they rise to the surface. Plunge into ice water. Drain and pat dry. Makes about 7 dozen. (Gnocchi may be frozen at this point.)
To reheat, pour a small amount of water into the bottom of a sauté pan. Add the gnocchi, olive oil and butter. Cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle with the Parmesan.