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Seema Pankhania’s French Onion Gnocchi

by Seema Pankhania from Craveable: All I want to eat

With the killer combination of sweet caramelised onions and fried mushrooms, pillowy gnocchi and melty Gruyère cheese, this dish is a real winter warmer.

From the book

Introduction

When it comes to winter soups, French onion soup reigns as the undisputed king. The slow caramelization of the onions is a labour of love in itself, resulting in a deep, rich flavour that’s worth every minute. In this recipe, those beautifully caramelized onions are paired with tender gnocchi, all swimming in a hearty stock infused with the umami goodness of miso and earthy mushrooms. It’s the kind of comforting meal that warms you from the inside out. Make this completely veggie by leaving out the Worcestershire sauce.

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Ingredients

250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
salt
olive oil
500g onions, thinly sliced
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp miso (optional)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or 1 anchovy, or omit)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar)
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 tbsp butter
½ tsp dried thyme (or dried rosemary)
150ml dry white wine (or chicken or vegetable stock, red wine, or 3 tbsp white wine vinegar)
500g potato gnocchi
100g Gruyère cheese (or any melty cheese)
50g panko breadcrumbs
50g Parmesan, grated

Method

In a dry pan over medium heat, cook the mushrooms with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes. The water in the mushrooms will evaporate first, and once they’re dry and start sticking to the pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook for an additional 3 minutes on a high heat until crispy. Transfer them to a bowl.

Using the same pan (no need to clean it), cook the onions with a generous amount of oil on a medium heat for 25 minutes, until they are very caramelized. Add a tablespoon of water if the pan looks dry and continue cooking.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Crumble the vegetable stock cube into a bowl and add the miso, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Stir in 500ml of boiling water to dissolve the stock cube.

Finely chop the garlic and add it to the onions along with the butter and thyme. Cook for 2 minutes, then deglaze with the white wine. Bring to a simmer, then add the vegetable stock mixture, cooked mushrooms and the gnocchi. Stir and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Grate half the Gruyère and roughly chop the rest. Mix the roughly chopped cheese into the pan of gnocchi.

Transfer the gnocchi mixture to a baking dish and cover it with the breadcrumbs, the grated Gruyère and the Parmesan. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until it turns golden and crispy.

Reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars

2 Ratings

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2 Comments

    default user avatar Carole Jakes

    Incredibly sweet, and although I used an anchovy and some Worcestershire sauce there was no umami hit. I really think it needed a lot of pepper in it to bring the flavours alive. Also, I deglazed the pan after the sauce had thickened, as before this there was nothing stuck to the pan. This meant I had to stir in the wine deglaze into the main dish in its ovenproof dish. I don’t think I’d try this again.

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    default user avatar Martin Max

    Very tasty. The recipe was a little confusing as to volumes of stock/water/wine etc but after reading it a few times it became clear. Sprinkled some chopped parsley before serving to counteract the biege colour. All in all loved it

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