For challenge 8 of Freshly Blogged we were tasked with creating a recipe using art or an artist as our inspiration. Unlike the contestants I did not look to a world famous artist for my inspiration, instead I turned to my late gran who inspires me every day. She was a commercial artist and taught me all about water colours, oils and charcoals. She not only taught me how to draw, the taught me to appreciate books and how to get absolute pleasure from reading. Every time I slept over I was allowed to take a book with me to read in bed before lights out. I would have to show her my clean hands and then she would allow me to unlock the bookcase and take out a hardcover book with short stories in them. I am not sure if I got to read all the volumes before she died and sadly I do not have access to the books to check. My grandmother was an inspiration in other ways as well. She raised 4 boys as a single mother and every Friday night there would be roast chicken and all the trimmings served for Shabbat dinner. I always remember an abundance of food on her side table. This tradition of roast chicken carried on long after she died, in my parents home, with my father allowing me to carve the chicken when I was old enough. I always stuff my chicken with lemon, herbs and garlic and so when I got the challenge ingredients I decided to make something different than what I would normally do. Because of this, I chose to make gnocchi with chicken and chorizo. I was chopped from the competition before I submitted this recipe but I was not worried as I knew it would be good for my blog regardless. The same day I was chopped I checked to see what my first challenge would be with the Daring Cooks and saw it was for gnocchi. We were tasked to make potato gnocchi and top it with any sauce you choose. How lucky for me!
Chicken And Chorizo Gnocchi
Ingredients
For the gnocchi
- 1 kg potatoes
- 200 g flour, sieved, plus extra for dusting
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 15 mls vegetable oil
For the chicken and chorizo
- 1 free range chicken
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 10 cloves garlic, lightly crushed with the flat of a knife
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 125 mls Sherry
- 15 mls olive oil
- 1 red onion, peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 smoked chorizo sausages, thinly sliced
- 250 g baby tomatoes, cut in half
- 30 g rocket, thinly sliced
For the Sherry Sauce
- 15 mls vegetable oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 30 mls concentrated chicken stock liquid
- 250 mls water
- 120 mls Sherry
Method
For the gnocchi
- Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
- Place the potatoes onto a baking tray and bake for 1 and a half hours
- Place a large pot of water onto boil
- Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh
- Push the flesh through a potato ricer into a bowl
- Whisk the eggs and egg yolks until frothy
- Add one tablespoon of the potatoes to the eggs and mix in well
- Fold the egg mixture into the potatoes
- Fold the flour into the potatoes
- Season to taste
- Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead into a ball
- Divide the ball into 8
- Roll out each piece into a sausage shape about 1.5cm in diameter
- Cut into 2.5cm pieces
- Roll each piece across a knife or gnocchi board and place onto a well-floured tray
For the chicken and chorizo
- Break down the chicken into 2 thighs, 2 breasts, 2 drumsticks setting aside the carcass and the wings
- Skin the thighs, beasts and drumsticks and bone the thighs and drumsticks
- Cut the flesh into large chunks and place into a large Ziploc bag
- Add the lemon zest and juice and the garlic
- Season generously
- Add the Sedgwick’s Old Brown and seal the bag
- Leave to marinade in the fridge for an hour
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade and the garlic
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan
- Sauté the onion and garlic until soft
- Season and add the chicken
- Seal the chicken and add the chorizo
- Season and add the tomatoes
- Once the tomatoes are cooked down adjust the seasoning
For the Sherry Sauce
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan
- Brown the carcass, wings and all the trimmings from your chicken
- Season to taste
- Add the stock and the water and bring to the boil
- Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes
- Remove the chicken and add the Sedgwick’s Old Brown
- Adjust the seasoning and increase the heat
- Reduce until thickened
To serve
- As soon as the gnocchi are all done, and your water is boiling, generously salt the water
- Cook the gnocchi for 3 minutes
- Remove and place into the pan with your Sedgwick’s Old Brown sauce
- Toss to coat the gnocchi in the sauce
- Place the gnocchi into a bowl and top with the chicken and chorizo
- Add a generous amount of rocket to each bowl
Notes
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Blog-checking lines: Todd, who is The Daring Kitchen’s AWESOME webmaster and an amazing cook, is our September Daring Cooks’ host! Todd challenged us to make light and fluffy potato Gnocchi and encouraged us to flavor the lil pillows of goodness and go wild with a sauce to top them with!
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Perilla
- two years ago – Lamb Burgers
- three years ago – Tamarind Water
Oh this looks so delicious!
I love the fresh flavours and the sherry sauce would make it so yummy! I really do have to learn how to make my own gnocci.
This recipe makes gnocchi making a breeze – I hope you give it a go Julie 🙂
This looks so full of flavour Tandy.
🙂 Mandy xo
It was, thank you Mandy 🙂
I am mad for gnocchi, Tandy, and this looks like a really wonderful way to serve them. Thanks!
My pleasure Kate 🙂
Wow. I like the combination of all three main ingredients!
Thanks yummychunklet 🙂
We’re having gnocchi today….I think I’ve got the ingredients to test out your recipe. It sounds delicious.
Thanks Roger, and I hope that if you tried it, you enjoyed it 🙂
Looks delicious Tandy. Any recipe with chorizo is a winner in my eyes 🙂
Thank you Lisa 🙂
Looks gorgeous, chorizo in anything is always good.
Thank you Sarah, and thank you for the visit 🙂
Oh my! This sounds absolutely amazing. I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken. This is perfect!
Thank you so much Anne, I hope you enjoy it!
Just love those flavour combinations. Yum!
Thank you!
G’day and in one word, YUM, true!
Congrats on completing the challenge and LOVE the flavor combination and wish I could try some of your gnocchi now too!
Cheers! Joanne
Viewed as Part of The Daring Kitchen Cooks Challenge Sept 2013
G’day! In one word YUM, true!
Wish I could taste some and congrats on completing the challenge too!
Cheers! Joanne
Viewed as Part of The Daring Kitchen Cooks Challenge Sept 2013
Thanks Joanne – I was very pleased with the taste 🙂