Wild mushrooms, leeks, and pumpkin gnocchi, a wonderful preview of the coming autumn season. The autumn brings a whole new palette of ingredients both in the garden and in the forest, providing plenty of new and exciting things to cook and experiment with. One of such meals is this wild mushroom, leeks, and pumpkin gnocchi.
the fungi …
Mushrooms love lots of water and warmth to thrive. The second half of the summer had plenty of rain and scorching heat it which cooked up favorable conditions for the mushrooms. There are not too many of them, but they are starting to pop up. In principle, the second half of summer and the beginning of autumn are great for chanterelles.
When forest foraging, I only pick chanterelles, porcini, and parasol mushrooms, as these are the only kinds I can safely recognize. Always be careful when going forest foraging. There is that old saying “Every mushroom is edible at least once!”, note the emphasis on ONCE.
To be on a safe side, you can always get mushrooms in the store. Try to get a variety for a more intensive taste.
Oh yes, and don’t ever wash mushrooms. Always use a brush and a damp cloth to get any dirt off of them. Washing the mushrooms makes them a bit soggy and then in the cooking process, you might not achieve nice caramelization.
the ingredients …
The leeks used in this recipe are young summer leeks. We planted them in the spring and by late June they are all ready to be harvested. When they are quite young (the diameter of the stalk is around 1.5 cm) they have a nice sweet creamy not very overpowering leek-like taste, which is perfect for the creamy wild mushroom sauce.
Sage is another herb that, if you plant it once, chances are you will have it for years and years on. Just make sure to trim it down to 1/3 in the spring and you will have, all throughout the year, fresh sage to pick for your foodie adventures.
Sage comes in handy in the winter when the cold season kicks in and you need something to soothe your throat. Just dig some leaves from the snow and boil into the tea and you are all set.
I have to say that yes the wild mushrooms are great, as well as the leeks and sage, but in all fairness, the true highlight of this dish are the pumpkin gnocchi (at least for me).
In the previous post, we went through how to make pumpkin gnocchi from scratch. In this post, we will combine them in a creamy wild mushroom sauce topped with crispy pancetta and garden sage chips.
how to …
This recipe is quite quick (assuming the gnocchi are safely frozen in the freezer) since it doesn’t take too long to saute the mushrooms and leeks. We don’t want to overcook the leeks so that they lose their vibrant green color.
It is one of those 15-minute recipes once you have all the items prepped.
This wild mushrooms, leeks and pumpkin gnocchi recipe is one of my favorite gnocchi dishes. The creaminess of the sauce paired with the almost apricot tasting mushrooms goes amazingly with the maple syrup infused pumpkin gnocchi.
Hope you love it as much as we do!
Enjoy!
Wild mushrooms, leeks, and pumpkin gnocchi
INGREDIENTS
The creamy sauce
- 220 g Chanterelles (Note 1)
- ½ young leek
- 30 g sage leaves (a handful)
- 6 strips pancetta
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
- 3 garlic cloves (finely minced)
- ½ cup double cream (> 20% fat content)
- ¼ cup gnocchi cooking water
- 50 g parmesan (freshly grated)
- salt & black pepper
The gnocchi
- 480 g pumpkin gnocchi
- ⅔ tbsp salt (kosher)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the ingredients
- Clean the mushrooms with a brush and a damp cloth to remove any soil or dirt from them.
- Tear the mushrooms lengthwise into bite-size pieces. Set the mushrooms aside. (Note 1 & 2)
- To clean the leek, hold it upside down and cut lengthwise, starting from the middle of the white part, all the way down. The leek will split in half but the uncut top will still hold all the pieces together. Rinse the leek under cold water to remove any dirt between the leaves.
- Using only half of the leek, cut the leek across into 0.5cm strips. Set aside. (Note 3)
- From sage stalks take only the leaves and wash them thoroughly. Pat them with the towel. We don't want any water on the sage leaves. Set aside.
The gnocchi
- In a large cooking pot add water to cover ⅔ of the pot. Turn on medium to high heat to reach boiling point. At this point add salt. (Note 4)
- Once the water reaches the boiling point add the gnocchi.
- As the gnocchi cook, they will start to float freely on the surface. Once this happens cook for another 2 minutes.
- Save ¼ cup of the gnocchi water and drain the gnocchi.
The creamy sauce
- Turn the stove heat on medium and heat the skillet. Add butter and olive oil.
- Add pancetta and sage leaves. Cook until the pancetta starts to wrinkle and the fat part starts to get translucent and a bit golden. Turn it on the other side and cook for another minute or until it is nice and crisp, the fat is golden but not brown. Cook until the sage leaves start to crisp up but not brown.
- Take out of the skillet and set on the kitchen towel. (Note 5)
- Turn the heat on medium to high and add the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the leeks and turn the heat down to medium. Saute leeks and mushrooms for another half a minute then add the cream and gnocchi water.
- Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Let the sauce boil for half a minute or until it thickens a bit. This should not be too long.
- Turn the heaf off and add the gnocchi. Mix slowly with the spatula couple of times, just to coat the gnocchi. (Note 6)
- Add the parmesan and slowly mix so that all the gnocchi are nicely coated with the sauce. (Note 7)
Serving
- Plate the gnocchi, top with the sage chips, and crumble the pancetta on top.
- Serve immediately.
NOTES
- Tearing instead of cutting the mushrooms introduces rough edges that will hold our creamy sauce better.
- You can substitute other mushrooms for the chanterelles. Just note that the chanterelle mushrooms hold their shape quite good once sautéd, unlike some other mushrooms which wilt by more than half of their mass.
- You can use the remaining half of the leek for soup stock, saute them with scrambled eggs for breakfast, etc.
- It might seem a lot to put so much salt in the water to boil gnocchi. Don’t worry most of the salt will remain in the pot, but the water will be properly seasoned and the cooked gnocchi will taste that much better.
- Overcooked sage turns brown which is not very desirable since it also turns a bit bitter as well.
- The heat is turned off because the gnocchi are already cooked so we don’t want to overcook them.
- The heat of the sauce will melt the parmesan almost instantly creating a nice velvety sauce.
