1936. GOATS MILK RICOTTA GNOCCHI with VIOLET ARTICHOKES, OLIVES and BACON

yields 4-6 servings


For the ricotta gnocchi
1 3/4 cup goat milk ricotta, drained overnight
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
3/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pound Semolina flour

For the Artichokes Barigoulel
2 tsp. olive oil
10 baby artichokes, cleaned and cut in quarters
1 clove garlic
1 sprig thyme
1/2 sprig rosemary
1 tsp. salt
1 cup white wine
1 cup olive oil

For the artichoke puree
1 tbsp. olive oil
5 large artichoke hearts, cleaned and cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil

Bacon
1 slab bacon, 1 inch piece

Garnish
2 tbsp. butter
12 Taggiasca olives
12 leaves of Petit Sylvetta Arugula

For the ricotta gnocchi: First, ricotta must be drained and be as dry as possible. Place cheese in cheesecloth and tie closed with twine. Place in colander and set inside a bowl -- set a heavy soup can on top of the cheese to weigh down. Drain overnight in refrigerator. The next day, squeeze out the remainder of liquid from the cheese while still in cheesecloth. Pass cheese through a fine mesh tamis/sieve by using a flexible pastry scraper.

Combine cheese, flour, egg and salt in a standing mixer with a dough hook. Place semolina in a low sided pan. Start rolling gnocchi into about 10 gram balls, or just about the size of a fresh cherry. Place each rolled gnocchi into the pan with semolina and cover with the flour. Continue until all gnocchi is rolled and in the pan with semolina, covered with the flour. Place pan of rolled, covered, gnocchi into the fridge and lest rest overnight.

For the Artichokes Barigoulel: To clean the baby artichokes, you will not need to clean them quite as far as the full grown artichoke. The choke hasn't quite developed yet, so the innermost part is still tender and edible.

First, cut off the top of the artichoke with a serrated knife. Then clip off the tips of the outer leaves with scissors, and snap them back to reveal the lighter green inner leaves. With either a pairing knife of a vegetable peeler, cut off the hard, full grown leaf remnants around the base. A vegetable peeler is also best of peel off the outer layer of the stem. Trim the very bottom of the stem if it is a little tough. Cut into quarters and hold in acidulated water as you are cleaning the remaining artichokes. This will inhibit oxidation and browning of the artichoke.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a high sided sauté pan, over medium/low heat. While heating the pan, quickly drain the artichokes on a kitchen towel. Sweat the artichokes until tender, allowing for no colorization. Add the herbs and garlic and continue to sweat.

Season with salt. Remove pan from heat and carefully add the wine. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Cover with remaining amount of olive oil. Continue to cook over moderate heat, uncovered, until artichokes are tender. Remove from pan and set aside.

For the artichoke puree: Clean and cut artichokes into small pieces, making sure to remove the inner purple leaves and the choke of the full grown artichoke. Also, be sure to hold in acidulated water until all artichokes are cleaned. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in sauté pan. While heating pan, drain pieces on kitchen towel. Add artichokes and sweat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly and allowing for no colorization. Season with salt. Add wine and cover, cooking over low heat, until the wine has reduced by half. Add water and recover, cook until artichoke pieces are tender. Place artichokes, with any remaining liquid, in the blender and blend. Emulsify with canola oil. Check seasoning. Set aside.

Heat oven to 200° F. Place bacon on a baking sheet and bake overnight, or about ten hours. This will completely dry out the bacon, creating an almost "jerky" quality to the bacon. Remove from the oven the next day and allow to cool completely.

Remove Semolina covered gnocchi from fridge and remove from semolina. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gently rolling boil. Place gnocchi in water and poach for a two minutes. While gnocchi is poaching in water, heat up 2 tablespoons of butter in sauté pan.

Remove gnocchi from water and drain. Place in pan with melted butter and gently coat with butter. Add olives and baby artichoke quarters and sauté gently to warm through.

Warm the artichoke puree gently in a small sauté pan. Separate the artichoke puree evenly between 4 dishes. Separate the gnocchi, olives and artichoke quarters evenly and place on top of artichoke puree. Using a microplane, shave the bacon over the top of the gnocchi. Finish with petit sylvetta arugula.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Daniel Humm, From Eleven Madison Park to Your Dinner Table, Good Morning America, ABC