Mushroom Gnocchi Fricassee with Sage

Recently I got the urge to make gnocchi. I don't do this often, and I had a fool-proof recipe to use whenever that urge should strike. It is a messy business, much like making pie dough, which I dislike doing because of the mess. Some people love to make pies and do it almost exclusively. I love pie, but to make one I have to really be motivated. That's why I generally go for making cakes. To me it is much simpler.

Back to the gnocchi. I had seen an episode of The Chew where Mario Batali made gnocchi and there was some discussion on the use of egg in making gnocchi. Some purists say there should never be egg in gnocchi and others claim the opposite. I had only made the no-egg kind of gnocchi, relying on properly baked potatoes and cooling and such. In this particular case, I opted to give the egg a go and see how they might come out. 

Mushroom Gnocchi Fricassee with Sage

And then, how to serve them? With a sauce? Just sauteed, with some bread crumbs over top? I have made tomato sauce in past, or just buttered with Parmesan and they were great. This time though, I was making a new recipe for a pork tenderloin using sage leaves, and wondered what might taste best with a strongly flavored pork dish. My husband used to love a mushroom fricassee dish long ago, and I had always meant to get into trying something out in that vein. Like many things, it sort of went by the wayside, but I had bought dried mushrooms so I would be ready to reconstitute and make this dish. Unfortunately, many years have gone by. I still had the mushrooms though.

My decision was to make a wild mushroom (dried and reconstituted, as there are no such exotic things as chanterelles, morels or lobster mushrooms found fresh up in these parts) fricassee, and toss in the gnocchi with more sage. Ultimately, the dish was fabulous. The strong favors of all the mushrooms went superbly with the pork tenderloin which was strongly flavored with sage and prosciutto. A true match made in heaven. If you love mushrooms and have access to dried mushrooms, this recipe is one to go for. If, even better, you have access to fresh wild mushrooms, whatever assortment you might like, I would suggest at least a pound or 1 1/2 pounds of fresh mushrooms for this dish.

Mushroom Gnocchi Fricassee with Sage

Serves 6 to 8

Mushroom Gnocchi Fricassee, served

GNOCCHI:
14 to 16 ounces russet or Idaho potatoes
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk

MUSHROOM FRICASSEE:
1.25 ounces dried assorted wild mushrooms
     (I used ½-oz. lobster mushrooms, ½-oz chanterelles, ¼-oz morels) 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, minced
½ cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
¾ cup heavy cream

Set the dried mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and allow them to reconstitute for at least 30 minutes.

Scrub the potatoes and bake them in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 50 minutes or until they are tender all the way through. They must be baked, without wrapping in foil or anything that might trap moisture. Moisture is the enemy in making gnocchi. Remove from oven and remove the skins. Rice the potatoes and allow them to cool completely without mixing them, as this would compact the potato and the starches will become gluey. 

Gnocchi dough, ready to roll and cut

Combine the two kinds of flour (if cake flour is not available, use only all-purpose flour). Once potatoes are completely cooled through, add in one-half of the flour, with the salt and the egg yolk. Stir gently, tossing, rather than mixing too roughly at first. If needed, add in a little more flour. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead the mixture together until it holds together to make a dough that is not too sticky, adding more flour only if needed. This is a balancing act, as too much flour will make the gnocchi heavy and dense, while not enough flour will have the gnocchi fall apart and disintegrate in the cooking water. 

Have a pot of boiling, salted water ready to test the gnocchi. Roll out the gnocchi dough, ½ of the dough at a time, into long ropes about ¾-inch in diameter. Cut the gnocchi in about 1 inch lengths. If desired, the little gnocchi may be rolled against the tines of a fork to leave a ridged design, though this is unnecessary. Test one of the gnocchi in the boiling water. If it keeps its shape, cooks through, and floats to the surface when done, then proceed with the remaining gnocchi. Boil them in batches without crowding the pot, for about 2 minutes per batch. Once done, scoop them out with a colander or a slotted spoon into a bowl.

Cooking the mushrooms

While the potatoes are cooling, make the Mushroom Fricassee. Drain the mushrooms and keep ready. Over medium heat, add the butter and oil to a large skillet, and add in the onions. Sprinkle the salt over the onions while cooking. Saute until golden and then add in the reserved mushrooms, the garlic and sage and cook for about 3 minutes, until fragrant (left photo, at right). Add in the vermouth or wine and cook (right photo, at right), raising heat if necessary, to evaporate the alcohol almost completely. Add in the heavy cream and lower heat, cooking slowly for about 15 minutes. Add in the reserved gnocchi and toss well. Serve immediately.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

It's Pheasant Hunting Season Again

Once again, it is time for avid hunters to test their shooting skills against pheasants. I have nothing against hunting, if it is done so one can eat or otherwise live. Our friend Rich arrived last Friday evening, so as to get out as soon as possible on Saturday. Sadly, no one was available to hunt with him on Saturday, and he didn't manage to get any birds. On Sunday however, he went out with someone and he came home with 3 birds. 

Stewed Pheasant, Dressing with Stewed Mushroom Gravy and Delicata Squash, a hearty meal

Once home, he and I cleaned them and put them to brine overnight in a mixture of:

Large mushroom chunks in the gravy

Marinade for Three Pheasants

8 quarts of water
½ cup Kosher salt
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon juniper berries

Bring all ingredients to boil and then cool before pouring over cleaned pheasants. If using a zip-top bag to hold the birds, you might be able to halve this recipe for the marinade.

NOTES: The use of juniper berries is not absolutely essential, but if you can find them, they make game meats taste wonderful. 

The next morning I drained off the brine, as leaving them too long would make the birds too salty. Then Rich and I sat down to try and figure out what we wanted to do with them for dinner. We must have gone back and forth with ideas for more than 2 hours before finally agreeing, first, to use them for two separate meals, second to make the first batch into a stew with mushrooms and to have a stuffing/dressing made on the side to accompany, and third, to make the second 1 1/2 pheasants in a few days. Meanwhile we put that second batch to marinate in red wine, thyme, sage, olive oil, garlic. We had so many leftovers in the fridge that last night and tonight are pot luck nights here. Tomorrow I plan to work with the wine marinated pheasant.

Delicata Squash, baked

What I did for the stew recipe with the first 1 1/2 pheasants was to set dried mushrooms to soak in boiling water and start assembling the rest of the ingredients, which I was mostly making up as I went along. All I can say is the result was a rich and gloriously savory stew gravy. I had to hold dinner, as Rich got a last-minute call that his hunting partner could head out for a brief while, and he wouldn't be back till about 7 PM. We normally eat between 5 and 5:30 in our house, so this was a late dinner indeed, and the stew sat in the oven on "Hold" for at least 2 hours. Let's just say that the meat was literally falling off the bones by the time we ate dinner. We had decided to have some Delicata squash with the meal.

A note on the fats used in this recipe: It is difficult to exactly pinpoint the amount of fat to use, as much will depend on how meaty or fatty the bacon is. The bacon I used was extremely meaty and rendered so little fat that I had to add in oil and butter to accommodate frying the onions, garlic and then the pheasant. No matter how much extra fat or oil you add, it will make little difference to the moisture of the bird. Pheasant is naturally very lean. If it was to be roasted, wrapping the pieces in strips of bacon might help a bit in the overall moistness of the meat, but when the meat is in a stew, that has no real effect. The fat that floated on the surface of the stew attests to the fact that it was not absorbed by the meat!

Pheasant and Mushroom Stew

Dinner of Pheasant, dressing,
gravy and Delicata squash

Serves 3 - 4 

1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms (8 - 12, depending on size)
½ ounce dried chanterelle mushrooms
4 cups boiling water
6 slices thick-sliced bacon, in 1/4-inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, rough chopped
1 - 2 tablespoons oil or butter, as needed for frying
1½ pheasants, cleaned and cut into quarters
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
6 juniper berries
1 large sprig fresh thyme
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 - 3 tablespoons Worcestershire for Chicken (or regular Worcestershire)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt

Pour the boiling water over the dried mushrooms, cover and set aside for 20 or 30 minutes, while preparing the other ingredients.

Dry the pheasant pieces thoroughly with paper toweling. Combine the flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the first teaspoon of paprika in a large plate. Dredge the pheasant pieces in this flour mixture and set aside, reserving the flour.

Have ready a large stew pot. In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown the bacon. Once browned, remove with a slotted spoon to the stew pot. Add the onions to the grease in the pan, and add more oil or butter if needed. Once softened, add the garlic for 2 - 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove the onion and garlic to the stew pot. Use 2 - 3 tablespoons of the reserved dredging flour and sprinkle it over the bacon, onions and garlic. Stir in well until it disappears.

Stew gravy with mushrooms
 - no sour cream!

Brown the pheasant pieces on both sides, in batches, without crowding the pan, and removing them to the stew pot when browned. Add in the juniper berries, thyme, tomato paste, Worcestershire, additional smoked paprika (regular paprika can be used instead) and the remaining teaspoon salt. A few grinds of fresh pepper would be nice also. Remove any tough stems or other parts of the soaked mushrooms. Chop the mushrooms and add them to the pot. Strain the mushroom liquid through a coffee filter or paper towel to remove any grit or dirt that may have accumulated. Measure the remaining liquid and add enough water or stock to make about 4½ cups. Pour this liquid into the pot and stir carefully. Set the pot over a burner and bring to a boil, while simultaneously preheating the oven to 275 degrees. Once the pot comes to a near boil, stir carefully, then cover the pot and place in the oven for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the pheasant is tender.
Sour cream may be added to the stew gravy if desired. I meant to do this but completely forgot in my hurry to get the food on the table for such a late dinner. No one missed the sour cream. The stew was absolutely perfect. The stew could be served over rice, or noodles. I made a dressing with the precise intent to use with this dish. Another alternative is to add potatoes to the stew to cook.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.