Brown Butter Gnocchi alla Vodka

Coat 750g of Maris piper or King Edward potatoes with a little olive oil and sea salt - bake for 1h at 180c 

 Cut, remove skins, then pass through a ricer or mash with a fork till cool enough to handle 

 Work in 350g AP flour little by little along with 1-2 egg yolks and knead with your palms - keep adding flour as required till you form a smooth ball of dough 

 Cut into 4 even sized pieces, then roll out into a thin log and cut into small gnocchi sized pieces with a dough cutter - dust with flour and set aside 

 Finely dice 1 shallot, 1 red chili + 3 cloves garlic and sauté in olive oil on med heat ~2 mins, then add bunch of basil and 1 tube tomato purée, sauté ~2 mins

Deglaze with 2 shots of vodka and cook off the alcohol ~2 mins

 Add in 200ml double / heavy cream and mix to combine - season with sea salt, black pepper, 1tsp peperoncino, 1tsp brown sugar

 Remove the basil and simmer on low, stirring continually

 Throw gnocchi into salted boiling water and cook for ~1-2 mins or until they float. Strain and place into ice water to stop cooking, then dry and set aside 

Add some unsalted butter to a pan with a splash of olive oil. Once sizzling, throw in the gnocchi - toss and cook for 4-5 mins until deeply golden brown and crispy - the brown butter will give off the most amazing nutty aroma 

 Add gnocchi to the warm vodka sauce with some pasta water and stir to emulsify, then kill the heat and sprinkle over some parmesan 

 Stir till melted and plate up, topped with more parm and chopped parsley - So satisfying and delicious. I didn’t have an exact measure of the flour so use your judgment and keep adding as required. Use the pasta water to loosen up your sauce if it’s too thick. A comfort food of comfort foods! Enjoy!