Gnocchi with Pea Purée

Serves four.

Ingredients:

For the gnocchi

400 g starchy potatoes, baked or boiled

100 g mascarpone

1 small portion of saffron

140 g potato flour

strongly-flavored cheese

5 g salt

20 g poppy seeds　

For the pea puree

20 g fresh green peas

25 ml olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 raw red beet

To make the gnocchi, peel the cooked potatoes and mash them through a fine sieve. Add mascarpone and mix well. Add potato flour and salt to taste, and then knead the mixture into a dough. Separate the dough into three equal portions. Add saffron and pepper to one portion to make yellow gnocchi; red beet to the second portion to make red gnocchi, and spinach to the third portion to make green gnocchi.

Form the dough into balls, each weighing about 20 grams. Fold one small cube of cheese into the center of each ball. Boil in salted water for about two to three minutes.

To make the pea purée, briefly blanch the fresh peas in an uncovered pot of salted water. As soon as they are tender, quench the peas in ice-cold water to preserve their green color. Puree the peas with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with thin slices of raw red beet and cut into small, decorative shapes.

Depending on the season, the puree can also be prepared using other vegetables.

This recipe comes to us courtesy of Pietro Leeman, head chef at Milan's Michelin-starred restaurant Joia.