Recipe

April 21, 2025

Ask A Chef: How To Make A Fresh and Earthy Gnocchi That’s Perfect For Spring

Recipe:

This gnocchi dish that our reader calls “amazing” comes from Fernando Cruz of 1 Hotel Toronto!

Q: I had the most amazing gnocchi at 1 Kitchen Toronto recently. The sauce was incredible! Could you get the recipe for me? — KAREN, Toronto

A: Fernando’s bright green roasted poblano pepper sauce sets his 1K Gnocchi apart from the traditional Italian dish. “The gnocchi is soft and savoury, and the sauce has an earthy richness,” says Fernando. Wild mushrooms and charred corn add hits of fresh Ontario flavour. Get the delicious spring gnocchi recipe below.

Ingredients

Poblano Pepper Sauce

  • 3 large poblano peppers
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium Spanish or white onions, peeled and chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 21/2 cups heavy cream

Gnocchi

  • 41/2 lbs. Idaho potatoes, peeled
  • 1/3 cup kosher salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup grated Grana Padano cheese
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup avocado oil
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup roasted corn, roughly chopped from cob
  • 1/2 cup roasted wild mushrooms
  • 1/3 cup shaved red onionCotija cheese and olive oil, for serving 

Directions

Yield:

MAKE SAUCE

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place peppers on sheet pan, drizzle with some olive oil and salt, androast in oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, immediately peel off skin and remove seeds. Set aside to cool.
  2. Add oil to frying pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and pinch of salt, and cook until translucent and aromatic. Don’t caramelize. Remove from stovetop, transfer contents to container and allow to cool in fridge.
  3. Once all ingredients are cool (allow 20 to 30 minutes), in blender, combine peppers and heavy cream in batches and blend until smooth. Add onions and garlic, and blend on high until smooth.
  4. Immediately place sauce in sealed container in fridge to cool and prevent cream from separating.

MAKE GNOCCHI

  1. To boiling salted water add potatoes and boil until they can be pierced easily with fork.
  2. In large bowl, rice potatoes. Fold in salt, eggs and cheese. Then, work flour into potato mixture in batches, taking care not to overmix.
  3. On lightly floured surface, roll out potato dough into ropes. Cut into 1″ x 1″ pieces; you should have about 90 to 100 pieces.
  4. Place gnocchi on parchment-lined sheet pan and put in freezer until gnocchi pieces are frozen, about 60 minutes.
  5. In medium rondeau pot, heat avocado oil until hot. Add gnocchi pieces to pan and sauté, until golden brown on both sides.
  6. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Then, add Poblano Pepper Sauce and stir, ensuring all pieces are coated evenly.
  7. Place gnocchi in large serving bowl. Top with roasted corn, mushrooms and shaved onion. Finish with grated cotija cheese and drizzle of olive oil. Serve family style and enjoy!
Author: Alexandra Whyte
Photographer:

Hector Vasquez (gnocchi)/courtesy of 1 Hotels (Fernando’s portrait)

Source:

House & Home