Gnocchi is a kind of Italian dumpling usually made from semolina, but also can be made from potato.
Using flour as the gelatinous binder, this gives us a little problem as primal eaters ... potato flour is the obvious one, but I used gari - an African starch from cassava root.
Gari is sold powdered, more like crumbs than a fine powder or flour ... not a million miles from the size and texture of semolina. Perfect for this, I would think!
Bake one medium sized potato per person for a portion of gnocchi.
Once baked, remove the potato flesh, break it right down (a ricer is good for this, but I don't have one, so ... a fork) and leave it to cool.
Make up a tablespoon of gari per potato with a little boiling water and combine it with the potato.
This will form a stodge which can then be worked.
Knead and roll out into a long sausage on a gari floured board, cutting into inch pieces and then flatten with a fork (the fork you used above ... a potato ricer is no use for this bit).
Before we cook them, let's get the rest of the meal sorted ...
The saffron sauce is simply fish stock, reduced, cream, reduced until it is thickened and drop in some stamens of saffron. Keep it on a low heat that is enough to keep it warm but not reduce further and give it a squeeze of lemon juice just prior to serving.
The fish, simply gut, scale and fillet - plaice has fillets top and bottom, so don't just whip the top off and discard the rest. Lay the fillets on some greased tin foil and commit to the grill/broiler for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, gently place the gnocchi into boiling water. When the rise to the surface, they're cooked.
Now the fun bit ...
Get some olive oil and sage (actually, I used dried sage and marjoram) just warming in a skillet and toss the gnocchi through. Add in some garlic and toss a few more times.
Serve out - fish, sauce and then the gnocchi scattered around.
Lovely stuff! Lightly crunchy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. Perfect with the sauce, perfect with the fish.
