Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Porcini and Chestnut Velouté Topped With Pangrattato and Lemon Zest
Pan-fried gnocchi meet a silky porcini and chestnut velouté in this rich yet balanced dish. Mushrooms and peas add texture and depth, while fresh thyme and lemon zest bring lift and brightness. Finished with crisp pangrattato, it’s a plate full of contrast – soft, crunchy, earthy, and light in all the right places.
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Step 1
- 10 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 300 ml water | boiling; to rehydrate the dried mushrooms
- 15 ml olive oil
- 125 g chestnut mushrooms | cleaned and roughly chopped
- 125 g brown onion | unpeeled weight; 1/2 large onion; peeled and roughly diced
- 2 units fresh garlic cloves | peeled
- ½ tsp tomato purée
- 125 ml white wine
- 1 tsp white miso paste
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp lemon juice | from the fresh lemon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried tarragon | add after processing!
Ingredients for Step 2
- 250 g gnocchi
- 1000 ml water | boiling water from a kettle; to cook the gnocchi
- 1 pinch salt
Ingredients for Step 3
- 30 g butter | unsalted
- 125 g chestnut mushrooms | cleaned and neatly chopped into quarters
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 unit fresh garlic clove | sliced thinly
- 75 g peas | defrosted
- 1 tsp Fresh thyme
Ingredients for Step 4
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1 tsp fresh thyme | leaves
- 1 lemon | zest; also needed for Step 1
- 2 tsp pangrattato | see Notes
Instructions
1. Prepare the velouté
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms for 15 minutes.10 g dried porcini mushrooms, 300 ml water
- Meantime, add the oil to a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chestnut mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release their juices and turn golden brown (5-8 minutes)15 ml olive oil, 125 g chestnut mushrooms
- Add the onion, garlic and tomato purée, and continue to cook until softened and beginning to caramelise (5 minutes). Pour over the white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated.125 g brown onion, 2 units fresh garlic cloves, ½ tsp tomato purée, 125 ml white wine
- Pick out the rehydrated mushrooms, and using a small sieve, pour the mushroom-soaking liquor into the pan. Add the miso, soy sauce, lemon juice and salt, along with the rehydrated mushrooms.1 tsp white miso paste, 1 tsp soy sauce, ¼ tsp lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt
- Tip the pan’s contents into a food processor, and process for at least 5 minutes minimum until very smooth. Return to the pan, and stir in the dried tarragon. Put a lid on the pan and simmer very gently on a very low heat (small ring).1 tsp dried tarragon
2. Boil the gnocchi
- Whilst the velouté is processing, boil a kettle of water and check your gnocchi pieces aren’t stuck together. Pour the boiling water into the pan on a medium heat, add a pinch of salt and when it comes to the boil, add the gnocchi pieces and stir to ensure the gnocchi are separate. Boil for a couple of minutes. They are cooked when they are floating.250 g gnocchi, 1 pinch salt, 1000 ml water
- Drain with a medium sieve, and tip onto a plate in a single layer so that they don’t stick together.
3. Pan-fry the gnocchi, mushrooms and peas
- Put a large frying pan on the heat, add the butter, bring to a medium-high heat, and when you’re confident that the Flora is hot (it has melted and is foaming slightly), add the cooked gnocchi, and pan fry for around 4 minutes. Get some colour on the gnocchi.30 g butter
- Then add the mushrooms and a good pinch of salt, and pan-fry for 2 minutes to soften the mushrooms. Keep the heat up and keep the ingredients in the pan moving.125 g chestnut mushrooms, 1 pinch salt, 1 unit fresh garlic clove, 75 g peas, 1 tsp Fresh thyme
- Add the garlic and defrosted peas and cook for another minute until the peas are heated through.
- Scatter in the chopped thyme, and mix so the thyme wilts slightly and runs through the dish.
- Check the velouté is simmering nicely.
4. Plate and finish
- Take two pasta bowls and pour half of the warmed velouté into each bowl. Top each bowl with half the gnocchi, mushroom and pea mix.1 pinch sea salt, 1 pinch ground black pepper, 1 lemon , 2 tsp pangrattato, 1 tsp fresh thyme
- Top with more fresh thyme leaves and the sea salt.
- Add the pangrattato and finally zest the lemon over the top using the small grater.
Video
Notes
Pangratto Recipe
In a food processor, process 60g of stale bread along with 10g of pumpkin seeds, 10g of sunflower seeds, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/8 tsp salt. Put 3 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan to heat up on a medium heat, tip in the processed mix, and proceed to move the contents around to pan fry until golden brown. Tip onto a sheet of kitchen roll that is on plate to soak up excess oil and to allow to cool and further dry out. Store in an airtight container once dry and cool.Nutrition
Calories: 381kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 13gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1177mgPotassium: 948mgFiber: 8gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 447IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 133mgIron: 7mg
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
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© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals