We had a great garlic-y weekend, as we took in the Hills Garlic Festival again this year, and stocked up and indulged in many garlic laden foods. We came home with 1/2 a wheel of Kootenay Alpine Cave aged cheese and a few lbs of yugo garlic, which I plan to grow this next year… our Sunday night dinner was a homage to garlic, grana padano cheese and gnocchi (my favourite cheese sauce vehicle). This dish was ridiculously rich and needs a HUGE bright green salad and even a side of veggies to go with it.. essentially it is a vegetarian carbonara, and it’s not for the faint of heart. I used rice gnocchi so the dish was wheat and gluten free…. but I can’t promise it’s without guilt!
start by boiling (unsalted) water to cook gnocchi’s in.
finely mince:
6 fresh baby chives
1 small sprig rosemary
4 large sage leaves
1 large sprig of oregano
In a small bowl combine:
2 egg yokes
1 cup grated grana padano or parm cheese
1/2 cup cream or goat milk
and 1/2 of the herb blend
In a deep large cast iron pan fry
2-4 cloves of garlic finely minced,
in about 1/4 cup olive oil
along with the rest of the fresh herb blend
cook the garlic slowly on medium low
meanwhile cook 1 package of gnocchi’s
once the gnocchi’s start to rise to the top, strain them and drizzle with olive oil (so they won’t stick together) then add them to the garlic pan and allow them to gently ever so lightly brown. Don’t move them around too much as they are delicate, and you want to achieve a light golden crust.
Once the gnocchi’s are perfect (you could totally eat them just like this and you would be in heaven) remove from pan and pour into a large bowl, toss with the egg / cheese / cream mix and season with black pepper (not salt as the cheese should be salty enough) and gingerly stir togeher until combined and smooth, and coated with a silky creamy coating.
serve and enjoy, and enjoy and enjoy!
