Italian food never tasted as good as it does when using New Mexico’s signature green chile.
Matt Yohalem opened Il Piatto, an Italian farmhouse concept in Santa Fe, in 1996, and from the beginning grounded his restaurant in the use of local, seasonal ingredients. It’s led to honors such as being named an an Esquire’s Top 20 Best New Restaurants in America Award the year the Santa Fe eatery opened in 1996. It’s earned him a nomination for a James Beard Foundation Award (the Oscars of the food and restaurant industry), and it’s led to fascinating delightful combinations such as the ones in the recipe for gnocchi with fire-roasted green chile.
Gnocchi With Fire-Roasted Green Chile
(Serves 4)
3 baking potatoes
1 cup flour
3 eggs
½ cup extra virgin olive
1½ teaspoons chopped garlic
½ cup blanched broccoli (preferably local wild broccoli)
1½ cups freshly roasted and peeled green chiles, seeds removed, roughly chopped
½ cup white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup creamy goat cheese
¾ cup grated pecorino cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wrap lightly salted and oiled potatoes in foil. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Scoop out insides and place on clean, lightly floured workspace. Add ½ cup flour to potatoes. Crack eggs into mixture. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and begin to knead into dough. Add flour and water as needed to form a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Cut dough into ¾-inch strips and roll out into logs on lightly floured surface. Cut into ¾-inch pieces and place on tray. Bring water to a rapid boil in a pasta pot. Add gnocchi one by one and cook until they float.
In a hot sauté pan, add ¼ cup of olive oil. Add garlic and fry until it cooks but doesn’t brown. Add broccoli and chiles and sauté. Add white wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. When wine has reduced, add gnocchi directly from pasta pot. Toss.
Turn off heat and add all of the goat cheese and half of the pecorino cheese. Toss.
Serve immediately using remaining olive oil and pecorino to garnish.
For more information on Il Piatto or to make reservations, visit the restaurant online.
Photography: Courtesy Il Piatto