Recipe | Cavolo Nero Gnocchi with Sage Butter

Green leaves at this time of year are few and far between outdoors so you’ll need to get your chlorophyll dose in the kitchen. The spotlight’s on darkest black-green cavolo nero and pale sage leaves in this tasty comfort food dish.

Serves 4

1kg maris piper potatoes (you’ll need 700-800g of fluffy potato once you’ve removed their skins)

150g cavolo nero, stalks removed

1 tbsp olive oil

2 eggs

200g pasta flour

Salt

25g butter

Small bunch of sage

1 lemon, zested

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180/Gas 6. Pop your potatoes straight onto the oven rack and bake for about 1½ hrs, or until they’re fluffy inside. Cut them in half and leave to steam while you get on with the greens.

2 In a pan, braise the cavolo nero with a splash of water and the olive oil until tender. Drain well, squeeze out every drop of water, then whizz with the eggs in a food processor until smooth.

3 When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides while still warm. Push through a sieve or use a potato ricer if you have one. Measure 700–800g of potato flesh.

4 In a large bowl, mix the sieved potato, cavolo nero paste and the flour. Bring together into a dough,

then turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Add a little more flour if it feels sticky.

5 Roll the dough into thin cigar shapes, dusting with flour to prevent sticking. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

6 Drop them into a pan of salted boiling water. They are ready when they bob to the surface. Retain

some of the pasta water before draining the cooked gnocchi.

7 Meanwhile, in a large pan, melt the butter. Add the sage leaves and let them sizzle. Stir in a couple of spoonfuls of the starchy pasta water until the sauce comes together.

8 Add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce and shake the pan to coat. Grate over some fresh lemon zest and black pepper, loosening with more pasta water if needed. Taste, season, and serve immediately.

This recipe is taken from our February issue’s ‘Kitchen Therapy’ pages, which this month focuses on earthy and simple foods to help you embrace dark days. The recipes are by Lottie Storey and the photography is by Kym Grimshaw. The February ‘Heal’ issue is in shops now.

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Make | Winter Herb Salt

This easy recipe can be made with whatever fresh herbs you have to hand; you just need roughly the same volume of sea salt as you do chopped herbs

The flavoursome salt is a versatile seasoning for so many winter recipes and is particularly good crumbled over freshly roasted chestnuts. Potted up in little glass jars and tied with a ribbon, it also makes a lovely gift for others to enjoy.

Makes 1 jar

You will need
A mixed bunch of fresh winter herbs of your choice (rosemary, sage, and a few bay leaves is our go-to combination for this)
Coarse sea salt

To make
Remove any tough stems from the herbs and finely chop them. Roughly measure out an equal volume of sea salt to the chopped herbs. Mix the Winter herbs and sea salt together until well combined. Spread the herb salt out in a shallow layer in a dish or bowl, cover with a tea towel, and leave somewhere warm and dry for a few days, or until the salt and herbs are dry to the touch. Scoop into a jar and use as needed.

The Winter Herb Salt was just one of the beautiful makes from our feature Gifts from the Smallholding in our December issue, by Kathy Bishop and with photography by Tom Crowford from The Seasonal Table. We’ve loved following Kathy and Tom’s adventures on their smallholding this year.  You can find the Winter Herb Salt as well as lots more wintry recipes and ideas, including squash and kale lasagne, mash with onions and breadcrumbs, ginger crumble with apple compote and redcurrant, apple and rosemary fizz starting on page 46 of our December issue, which you can preorder now.

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