Rialto Restaurant & Bar

Salt Cod Gnocchi with Caponata and Bottarga

Serves 4

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 medium Japanese eggplant, about 1 pound, chopped into ½-inch rounds

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small white onion, chopped into ¼-inch dice

2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped into ¼-inch dice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon tomato paste

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped into ½-inch dice

1 cup canned tomatoes in their juices, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons chopped Sicilian green olives

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 

Heat ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the eggplant and sear on each side until golden (it won’t be cooked through). Transfer to a plate. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the onion and celery and cook until they start to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, less than a minute. Add the coriander seeds, hot red pepper flakes and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan, along with the fresh and canned tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, olives and capers. Reduce the heat to medium and cook 8 minutes.

Add the cooked eggplant. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the eggplant is tender. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley.

Salt Cod Filling

Makes about 2 ¼ cups

1 pound center-cut salt cod (the thickest part of the fillet)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced shallots

¾ cup heavy cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice, as needed

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

Soak the salt cod for 12 hours in a large non-reactive bowl of cold water, changing the water 3 or 4 times. When finished, the cod should not be completely salt free or it will lose its distinctive flavor. It should taste a little saltier than fish that you’ve seasoned and cooked with salt.

Drain and rinse the salt cod, then put it into a medium pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool in the liquid.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the cream and simmer 7 minutes to reduce slightly.

Drain the cod and pat dry with paper towels. After removing the skin and bones put it into a food processor and pulse a few times to break it into coarse pieces. Add the garlic-cream mixture in a steady stream with the machine running. Transfer the cod to a medium bowl. You will have to taste the salt cod and, if necessary, add more salt. Stir in the lemon juice and chopped parsley.

Gnocchi

2 pounds baking potatoes, scrubbed

1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 whole egg, beaten

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup freshly grated pecorino Romano, plus additional for passing

¼ cup Italian parsley leaves

1 teaspoon freshly grated bottarga, if available.

 

Preheat oven to 400°. Roast the potatoes for 40 to 50 minutes—they should be just done. If they cook too long, they won’t rice properly.

Remove the potatoes from the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes, no longer. Use a kitchen towel to handle the potatoes. Cut each one in half, scoop out and rice the potato flesh in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt and mix well. Add the egg and quickly knead everything together into a sticky dough. You should work the dough no longer than 3 minutes. If it’s too wet, add a small amount of additional flour. If you add too much flour or knead the dough for too long the gnocchi will be gluey.

Fill a large pot with 4 inches of salted water and put it on to boil. You need the water deep enough to cook the submerged gnocchi, yet shallow enough that you can maintain a good boil. If you want the process to go faster, put on 2 large pots. Fill another large pot halfway with ice water. Dust your hands with flour. Cut off a piece of dough about the size of a gumball to make a trial gnocchi. Roll it between your palms into a ball. Then drop it into the pot of boiling water. After it cooks for a minute it will bob to the surface. Let it cook for a minute longer, then remove it with a slotted spoon. Plunge it into the ice water for a few seconds, then taste it. (Don’t worry if the outside looks a little filmy as it comes out of the ice water. The film disappears as the gnocchi dries, and the moisture evaporates.) The gnocchi should be cooked through but still soft. If it falls apart knead more flour into the dough, taste for seasoning, and test again. Otherwise go to the next step.

Cut the dough into 4 equal parts

Using more flour as needed, roll a piece of dough into ¼-inch thick strips that are 3-inches wide, and about 20 inches long.

To make gnocchi, put a scant tablespoon of salt cod at 2 ½-inch intervals down the middle of the strips. Fold the strip in half to enclose the salt cod. Cut between each spoonful of salt cod to make 8 stuffed gnocchi. Set them on a baking pan sprinkled with semolina flour. Repeat 3 more times. You should have 32 gnocchi.

To serve, add the gnocchi to the boiling water in several batches. Again, let them bob to the surface, then cook for an additional two minutes. Remove the gnocchi from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl with olive oil and pecorino. Toss well.

To serve, put three spoonfuls of caponata on 4 large warm plates. Arrange the gnocchi around the caponata. Garnish with parsley leaves, bottarga and additional pecorino if desired.