I have got myself into a bit of a pickle recently by purchasing several new books at once, despite being in the middle of two already. The thing is, I decided to re-read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy in the belief that this time round I would understand and appreciate the chapters devoted to politics and the meaning of life, but just before I believe this was about to happen, I ran off to France for the weekend. You may think the hours spent on the train would be a perfect opportunity to devote myself to Anna, but I was not so convinced and foresaw myself bitterly resenting have to re-read a book I already knew the outcome of. So, I opted for yet another Joanne Harris book, ‘Five Quarters of the Orange’, which was completely perfect! The ultimate light read for someone like me who is obsessed with food and a romantic dreamer. Harris’ books are always devoted in some way to food and her passion really comes through in the way she describes not only the dishes and the food itself, but the emotions connected to them. The best thing is that the setting for the book was also in the French countryside, so what a perfect companion for my trip!

I really am digressing, but to pull my rambling a little bit back to what I was meaning to write about, I purchased another two books which (despite the timing) are amazing. The first I found in Copperfields book shop in Wimbledon* and is called ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Julia Child was an American writer, cook and TV presenter and quite the culinary legend, so when I saw this cookbook sat in the midst of all the rubble, I was very excited indeed. Similarly so when I saw ‘South Wind Through the Kitchen: The Best of Elizabeth David’ by Julian Barnes, Elizabeth David, and Jill Norman in Foyles (although with not so much of the surprise element as it was the cookery section of a well known bookshop).

For a time I flitted scattily between the two, but for the moment I have settled down with Elizabeth David's collections. The book itself contains many of her best recollections and recipes, chosen by her close friends and admirers which makes it an enjoyable and quite personal read. It's a step up from your usual cook book, glossy pictures are replaced with drawings and the majority of the recipes are told in relation to a specific time and setting in Elizabeth's life. One of the first recipe's I attempted was her spinach and ricotta gnocchi, which I served with a fresh tomato sauce. The gnocchi were really light and easy to make, with the only problem being the assembling of the wet mix before dropping into the water. 

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

450g spinach

250g ricotta

Butter, 1 tbsp

Nutmeg, fresh, 1/2 tsp

2 eggs

3 tbsp plain flour

50g parmesan, grated

Steam the spinach according to the instructions on the packet, then completely drain in a tea towel (you may have to do this in two or three batches). Chop the spinach finely, then mix in a bowl with the ricotta, butter, nutmeg and salt/pepper. Heat the mix in a saucepan over a low heat for five minutes, stirring continuously. Remove the mix from the heat and mix in the eggs, flour and parmesan. Leave this mix in the fridge overnight.

Prepare a large pan of boiling water. Cover your work surface with a thin sprinkling of flour (using a sieve for a more even coating) and form little balls of gnocchi mix of similar size. Roll each ball in the flour and set aside. You will probably have to keep adding flour to your surface, so have the flour and sieve nearby.

Drop the gnocchi balls into the pan of water and leave to cook until they pop to the surface (this should take approx 3-8 minutes, completely depending on the size). It's easier to do this in 3-4 batches as the gnocchi needs quite a lot of room to cook. It's also handy this way as you can see the gnocchi pop up a lot easier. When the gnocchi pops up, scoop them up and set aside in a colander until you have the whole batch finished.

You can then serve the gnocchi either simply with olive oil and parmesan or any fresh sauce. I prepared a tomato sauce with chopped tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, which I then put on top of the gnocchi in an oven dish and finished off with parmesan and olive oil. I heated this in the oven for about 15 minutes, on 180c/350f.

* Copperfields is a great second hand book shop which seems to be forever open and rammed with every book you could ever want. The owner is really helpful and you can request books that they do not have available in the shop.
 
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