Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

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Kopytka – Polish Gnocchi for Tenderstem ®

Hurray! Today officially marks the first day of spring. March has already been an incredibly busy month for me recipe-wise and I have lots of great things to share with you over the next few days. Firstly, I wanted to tell you about a new recipe up on the Tenderstem ® broccoli website, which I was asked to create as part of their focus on inspiring recipes from around the world. I created my Polish version of a gnocchi recipe, known as ‘kopytka’ – meaning ‘little hooves’ – made in a similar way to Italian gnocchi, with leftover mashed potato, flour, an egg and a little seasoning. I also added some small pieces of Tenderstem ® to the dough itself, to brighten things up a bit and then served them with more healthy Tenderstem ®, shallots and Polish ham. It’s a really easy recipe to bring together and I’ve already had lots of positive comments on Twitter, from readers letting me know how they’ve got on trying it. I’d love to here from you, too, if you fancy this for a spring supper one evening!

Photograph copyright Tenderstem
Photograph copyright Tenderstem

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Kopytka (Polish Gnocchi) with Tenderstem ®

Ingredients

  • 200g pack Tenderstem
  • 500g mashed potatoes, cooled
  • 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • A small knob of butter
  • 2 shallots, peeled, chopped
  • 200g Polish ham or bacon, such as Sopocka or Wiejska, or use pancetta.

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the Tenderstem. Boil for five minutes, remove with a slotted spoon (keep the water, turn off the heat) and drain under cold water. Chop five sprigs of Tenderstem very finely. Put to one side to add to the dumplings.
  2. Put the mash potato into a large bowl. Add the finely chopped Tenderstem, the flour, egg and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Using a metal spoon at first, bring the mixture together. Then tip it out onto a board and knead it until all the flour is incorporated into the potato.
  3. Sprinkle a little extra flour onto the board and cut the dough into four quarters. Roll each piece into a long cylinder and cut at an angle into one inch pieces. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
  4. Bring the salted water back to the boil and in batches, drop in the dumplings. Gently boil for three to four minutes.They will rise to the top once cooked. Take them out with a slotted spoon, drain and cook the rest.
  5. Once the dumplings are cooked, add one tablespoon olive oil and the butter to a large frying pan. Gently fry the shallots and the chopped ham. Add the rest of the pre-cooked Tenderstem and add the dumplings to the pan to colour them slightly. Cook for a further two minutes and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size Serves 4

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

There are also lots of other globally inspired recipes to be found on the site, here.

With many thanks to Tenderstem ® for this recipe commission. 

Happy Spring!

Linking up to Simple and in Season – March

About Ren

Ren Behan is a British-born food writer of Polish descent. She is a mum to three young children (13, 10 and 5) and spends lots of time with them in the kitchen. Ren writes about seasonal, family-friendly food on her blog www.renbehan.com. She also contributes recipes and articles to online and print food publications, such as Food52.com, GreatBritishChefs.com, Huff Post Food and JamieOliver.com. She holds a Diploma in Food Journalism with Distinction and has completed a Food Styling course at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

Ren’s cookbook, Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, draws upon her Polish heritage and regular travels to Poland.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. What a delicious sounding combination Ren. I’m normally too lazy to make my own gnocchi, but I reckon I’ll have to give this a go one weekend as the boys love food like this.

    Reply

  7. What a gorgeous looking plate of food. I do love gnocchi and adding the broccoli is such a good idea. Luckily my kids also love both so this is a dish I will try making for us all to enjoy together and welcome Spring!

    Reply

  11. I love kopytka! Remember my granny making them with onions, bacon and lots of butter! Yum 😉
    I have recipe for them coming up on the blog soon, with wild polish mushrooms suce 😉

    Reply

    • Ooh lovely, yes such an easy dish to make, and so nice when they are pan-fried a little. They’d be nice with some wild garlic and mushrooms, too …..

      Reply

  13. This one looks lovely too. Funnily enough I just had tenderstem, roasted in a little oil with roast new potatoes and chicken. Delish!
    Janie x

    Reply

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