Award Winning Gnocchi Ala Panna

I recently made this recipe for a cooking contest held by a major restaurant chain. Out of 1500 entries, my dish was selected to compete against 15 other regional finalist and I won!

1lb of russet potatoes

8 ounces of ricotta cheese

3 eggs (1 whole, 2 yokes)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground dry shitake mushroom  

2 cups "00" Caputo Italian pizza flour

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp truffle oil

Cook 1 large russet potato, with skin left on, in a pot of salted water until soft to a fork. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Run potato through a ricer and discard skin.

Stir together the potato, ricotta cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, mushroom powder, and garlic powder in a large bowl until evenly combined. Mix in flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.

Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-thick ropes on a floured surface. Cut each rope into  1-inch pieces, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 table spoon of extra virgin olive oil. Boil the gnocchi until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes, and then drain. Place Gnocchi in a large bowl that has been lightly oiled with truffle infused olive oil.

ALA PANNA SAUCE

4 thick slices of pancetta

5 minced cloves of garlic

1 lb sliced cremini mushrooms

cup of Marsala wine

2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

1 tbsp chopped basil + a small bunch for garnish

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Salt & pepper

2 tbsp finely graded Mizithra cheese

In a large frying pan cook pancetta over med high heat until cooked but still limp. Remove pancetta from pan, chop and set aside. Add minced garlic and mushrooms to the pan and saut until mushrooms are soft. Add wine and parsley and simmer until all liquid has evaporated.  Add cream and chopped pancetta and simmer until reduced by 1/3. Add sauce to Gnocchi and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mizithra cheese and chopped basil on top and garnish with a small sprig of basil.