Crispy gnocchi, mushrooms & fennel with herbed goat curd

Serves 4 as a main meal, and easily halved

Choice Mushrooms and store-bought gnocchi are tossed with a punchy marinade, then oven-roasted with onion, fennel and broccolini, creating an effortless meal with impact. A simple herbed goat curd adds refreshing acidity, bringing all the flavours together.

We’ve used a mixture of Choice Mushroom’s lion’s mane, oyster and pioppino mushrooms, but you can use any single or mix of varieties you like. All types of gnocchi (including frozen, without thawing first) will work cooked this way without the need to pre-boil.

Different brands of harissa vary in their heat level, so if you’re using another brand, start with a little and taste before adding more.

Serve with a simple salad of lightly dressed green leaves and cucumber on the side.

What you’ll need

For the marinade

100ml olive oil
4 Tablespoons Whites Valley Jalapeños Mexican Harissa
2 Tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon Urfa or Aleppo chilli flakes – or a pinch of regular chilli flakes
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon tamari
½ teaspoon fine salt

For the vegetables and gnocchi

1 large red onion, quartered and cut into thin wedges
1 fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced
1 lemon, halved widthways, bottoms trimmed so they sit flat
1 large box mixed Choice Mushrooms (about 350-400g)
300g gnocchi – use any frozen, fresh or shelf-stable gnocchi
1 bunch broccolini, sliced into thirds, thick stems halved lengthways
Australian extra virgin olive oil, fine salt and ground black pepper
Large handful Taronga toasted almonds, to serve 
Fresh dill and chives, finely chopped, to serve 

For the herbed goat curd

150g Lilyarra™ or Woodside goat curd 
1 Tablespoon each finely chopped dill and chives
Juice from half a roasted lemon
1 Tablespoon Australian extra virgin olive oil
Flaked salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

What to do

Heat your oven to 220°C fan-forced and line two large baking trays with compostable baking paper. Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the sliced onion and fennel and lemon halves in a large bowl with a good splash of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat and divide between the two baking trays with the lemon halves flesh side up. Roast for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, tear the lion’s mane mushrooms into 3cm thick pieces, tear any large oyster mushrooms in half, and divide the caps and stems of large pioppinos. Leave smaller mushrooms whole. Place all the mushrooms in a large bowl with the gnocchi, add all except 2 tablespoons of the marinade and mix well so the marinade gets into all the nooks and crannies of the mushrooms.

Carefully take the hot trays from the oven, remove one of the lemon halves, add the mushrooms and gnocchi evenly between both trays, spread everything in a single layer, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

While the gnocchi and veg are happily roasting, mix together all the ingredients for the herbed goat curd, using tongs to squeeze the juice from the roasted lemon half that you’ve taken out of the oven. Add a little water to make a dollop-able sauce.

Toss the broccolini with a little olive oil salt and pepper. Take the trays out of the oven again, divide the broccolini between them and roast for another 5 minutes, until the broccolini is just tender and all the other ingredients are beautifully charred.

Serve straight from the baking trays, topped with the herbed goat curd, reserved marinade, almonds or hazelnuts and herbs. Or, if you’re feeling a bit fancy, spread the goat curd onto a platter, spoon over the gnocchi and vegetables, before topping with the extra marinade, nuts and herbs.

Squeeze the (now very juicy!) remaining roast lemon half over at the table.

Photo by Jason Porter www.fleurieuliving.com.au