After watching Gary’s MasterClass on Friday night’s episode, culinary creativity definitely stirred in the MasterChef online office. “I’m going to make lamb stew this weekend,” said our writer. “Ooh I’m so in the mood for a raw salad now,” piped up a producer. “I’m going to taste-trump you all!” I exclaimed, perhaps a little too confidently. “I’m going to do a Gary and make gnocchi from scratch at home.”

Gnocchi is essentially pretty straightforward – it’s just mashed potato, flour, egg and salt. However, my husband Clint and I had tried making these little potato dumplings before and, although tasty, they were very heavy. This time we took the judge’s advice seriously, only buying Sebago spuds, sifting the flour before mixing it in and making sure we didn’t overwork the dough.



To be honest, there’s no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than getting up to your elbows in flour. My husband bought a gnocchi board last time we were in Italy and he definitely embraced his Italian side as he flamboyantly flicked each gnocchi down the board to create those signature ridges that suck the sauce in.



On Saturday night, we enjoyed a feast of gnocchi with ragu and parmesan. The next day, we had a stodgy stash of cold gnocchi sitting in the fridge, so I copied Gary’s method of tossing them in olive oil in a frying pan lined with greaseproof paper.  I threw rosemary from the garden and a knob of butter into the pan and served the little golden yet fluffy nuggets with crispy prosciutto and fresh pecorino. Delicioso!



After our Italian feast, my husband and I eased ourselves onto the sofa with a glass of pinot grigio and a bowl (oh alright, a bucket) of Amaretto gelato. I was no longer a gnocchi novice! Next weekend, I’m going to work on becoming a pasta pro – any excuse to finish my day with a gelato gorge.