November 2023

 

This month, the Executive Chef of MSC World Europa, Antonio Varriano, presents a delicious dish: Potato Gnocchi with Portobello Mushrooms and Pumpkin. The unmistakable flavours of these genuine and simple ingredients are skillfully combined and balanced in this mouth-watering recipe. Let’s discover how to prepare this delicious recipe and try our hand, with the Chef’s help, at making homemade gnocchi.
 
Please share some insights into your career and your current role in MSC Cruises. 
“My career started in 1979 in the Hotelier Institute in Termoli, Italy. I then worked in prestigious hotels under the guidance of chefs with international experience until 1987, when I started my career at sea. I reached the position of Executive Chef, and after several years of travelling between land and sea, I had the chance to work in a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Hong Kong. In 2014, I joined MSC Cruises as Executive Chef and had the privilege of overseeing the kitchen on some of the latest ships, including MSC World Europa, where I am currently based. It is precisely on MSC World Europa that you can savour the recipe proposed this month.”

This dish is characterised by unique flavours and aromas – pumpkin and mushrooms. How can we choose the best raw materials for this recipe? 
“For the dish to be successful, the ingredients must be top-notch. Opt for a slightly brownish, perfectly ripe pumpkin so the flesh remains firm and retains its delicate sweetness. As for the Portobello mushrooms, choose those with a rich chocolate hue: with their intense flavour and fleshy texture, they will ensure an excellent outcome.”

In this recipe, we venture into making homemade gnocchi. Can you reveal the secret to preparing them to perfection?
“The main element is the choice of the potatoes. Choose white ones, which are richer in starch and will result in a slightly creamier mixture. And remember, don’t overdo the flour! Always make sure the dough is balanced.”

 

Ingredients for 4 persons:

Potato gnocchi:
250 g  Flour
2 g Salt
1 g Pepper
20 g Butter
500 g Potatoes
1  Egg
1 g Nutmeg

Garnish:
50 g Green peas
80 g Portobello Mushrooms
60 ml Olive Oil
2 g Salt
1 g Pepper
4 leaves Fresh sage

Baked pumpkin and pumpkin cream:
20 g Unsalted butter
12 g Brown sugar
12 g Honey
1 g Cinnamon powder
1 g Nutmeg powder
200 g Fresh pumpkin
160 ml Cream
80 ml Vegetable stock



Preparation

Let’s start making our gnocchi. 
First, boil the potatoes, and when they are cooked, and you can pierce them with a fork, you should peel them and mash them. Once the potato mash has cooled down, form a well on your working table that is dusted adequately with flour.
Add the egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg in the middle and then start incorporating the flour. Mix with your fingertips until all is well combined. The gnocchi dough is now ready!
Start taking some of this dough and roll it into a small sausage shape. Cut out small pieces about 2 cm in diameter and roll them into little balls; then, press a fork onto the balls and roll them to give them the traditional gnocchi shape.

You can now bake the pumpkin. Melt butter in a pan and add sugar, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg, then mix all ingredients well until you get a paste. Cut the pumpkin in half and place it on a roasting tray with the flesh side up. Rub the paste onto the pumpkin, covering all flesh sides, and bake in the lower part of the oven for about one and a half hours or until the pumpkin is well cooked. When the pumpkin is ready, remove it from the oven, drain off the liquid and let it cool.

Cut half of the pumpkin into small cubes for the garnish, scoop out the pulp of the other half and blend it. Reduce heavy cream slightly in a saucepan and add the blended pumpkin pulp; the cream should be approximately two-thirds the quantity of the pumpkin. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of vegetable stock, then season with salt and pepper.

It’s now time to prepare the garnish. Sauté the sliced Portobello mushrooms in a pan with olive oil and a little garlic, season to taste and set aside, then fry the sage leaf until crispy and set aside.

Cook the potato gnocchi in salted hot boiling water, drain them and toss them in a pan with brown butter.

You’re ready to serve: pour a scoop of pumpkin cream onto a plate, add the gnocchi and garnish with the cooked green peas, the diced roast pumpkin, the sautéed Portobello mushrooms and the fried sage leaf.

Enjoy!