Sunday Kitchen: Vicky Shah of Kol restaurant + Goan spiced potato gnocchi recipe

Vicky Shah, head chef, KOL, Ponsonby Road. 03 Novemeber 2022 New Zealand Herald photograph by Michael Craig

Vicky Shah has been busy creating delicious things for new Auckland restaurant Kol. He takes a minute to share his Sunday agenda with us. kolauckland.co.nz

What does Sunday look like in your kitchen?

On Sundays or a day off I wake up late and go grab a coffee and some brekkie at Honeybones in Grey Lynn, it's just down the road from me. For lunch I either end up dining out with friends or if it's a nice sunny day I might turn on my Heston Everdure barbecue and throw on some meat from Grey Lynn butchers. I'm an avid fan of old-school board games so often I end up having a game night on Sunday with friends. Everyone brings something and we relax with a few drinks. I like making gnocchi with Goan chorizo. It's my own recipe and adds a touch of spice to an Italian classic.

Why have you chosen to share this dish?

After a week of cooking it's an easy-to-make recipe on a day off; I like to whip up something at home that's both a crowd pleaser and feeds a crowd. I grew up in India where we added Indian flavours to most cuisines to come up with our own versions of them - this is my take on Italian-Indian.

Goan spiced potato gnocchi by Vicky Shah, head chef, KOL, Ponsonby Road. 03 November 2022 New Zealand Herald photograph by Michael Craig

Goan spiced potato gnocchi

500g agria potatoes
100g flour
2 egg yolks
100g parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
150g Goan chorizo (I use Grey Lynn Butchers), diced
50g chopped almonds
Sauce
2 green chillis
1 bunch coriander, leaves removed, stalks and roots kept aside
500g spinach
500ml coconut cream
Salt to taste
1 lemon, zest and juice

1. Heat oven to 200C. Wash and place the potatoes on a roasting tray, bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until you can easily put a fork into the potato.

2. Once cooked, let the potatoes cool until you can handle them. Cut the potato in half and scoop out the middle. Put the potatoes through a ricer or mash with a fork. Add flour and 2 egg yolks, season with salt and pepper. Add the parmesan and combine until you get a smooth dough. Roll into a slim cylinder on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 1-inch pieces and keep aside.

3. Heat water in a saucepan. Once the water boils, add the gnocchi in batches. Allow the gnocchi to float to the surface, leave for a minute and remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Add a few drops of olive oil to prevent the gnocchi sticking to each other.

4. To make the sauce: Heat a pan on medium heat with some oil, slice chillis in half and add to the pan (you can deseed if you wish to reduce the spiciness). Add the coriander roots to the pan as well. When the chilli crackles add, spinach and cook till it wilts. Remove from heat and add to a food processor/blender with a touch of water and blend to a smooth sauce.

5. Wipe out your pan and put it back on low heat. Add the chorizo and almonds and cook until the fat comes out of the sausages and almonds turn brown. Add the spinach sauce and coconut cream. Season with salt and lemon juice.

6. Add the lemon zest and stir to combine. Finally add your cooked gnocchi and garnish with coriander leaves.