Donal Skehan: Sabrina Gidda’s gnudi with broad beans and asparagus

Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 0 hr 20 mins

Ingredients

  • Serves 4
  • For the ricotta gnudi:
  • 450g ricotta
  • 40g Parmesan, grated
  • 120g tipo “00” flour, plus extra if needed
  • 1 large free range egg and 1 egg yolk
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • To serve:
  • 1 bunch white or green asparagus
  • 1 lemon, juice only
  • 75ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprig fresh tarragon, chopped
  • 100g fresh peas, podded
  • 100g broad beans, podded
  • 50g butter
  • 200g pancetta, cut into lardons
  • 150g wild garlic leaves
  • Wild garlic flowers, to serve
  • 100g Parmesan shavings, to serve

This dish is a perfect example of simple seasonal cooking from Sabrina Gidda, head chef of Bernardi's restaurant in London. Marshmallow soft ricotta dumplings in a sharp, buttery sauce with all the ingredients spring can offer. She suggests white asparagus but use green if you can't find them. Mix together the ricotta and the other ingredients for the gnudi until well combined. Roll into a long sausage shape then cut into pieces to make gnudi.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and oil a baking tray. Poach the gnudi for a few minutes until they float to the surface. Drain well and put them on the baking tray.

Blanch the white asparagus in boiling salted water for a minute. Drain and leave to cool. Slice diagonally into small pieces, then dress with some lemon juice, olive oil, seasoning and a little chopped tarragon. Set aside until you are ready to serve.

Heat a large saucepan of boiling salted water and blanch the peas and broad beans for one minute.

Fry the gnudi in a non-stick frying pan in a little butter until they start to become golden-brown.

In a cold frying pan, add the pancetta and start to heat it to render out a little fat. Add a little drizzle of olive oil, and the wild garlic, broad beans and peas. Add a little knob of butter, a little lemon juice and cook gently. Add the gnudi and toss once.

To serve, put the gnudi in open bowls with the sauce. Add the sliced white asparagus and finish with a sprinkle of wild garlic flowers, extra virgin olive oil and some Parmesan shavings.