Living in Central London is a privilege, but it also comes with a few drawbacks. One of them is sourcing fresh ingredients. Taking the car anywhere during the day for me is a fraught affair, and even if I actually manage to get to my destination, finding a parking space is like trying to find a hen’s teeth. So I resort to either catching a bus or walking.
My quest for ingredients takes me all over London. The Athenian in Moscow Road for Greek, Green Valley in Upper Berkeley Street for Lebanese, Church Street Market off Edgware Road for fruit and vegetables, not to mention an array of little shops dotted all over the metropolis.
Today I wanted Italian, so I took the twenty-minute walk up to Little Italy in Clerkenwell, cutting through the busy Leather Lane market – giving the sole surviving vegetable stall a quick glance as I strolled past. The market mainly caters for lunch time office workers who want fast food and cheap clothes. Right at the end of the market on the opposite side of the road stands Terroni & Son – the oldest deli in London that has been going since 1878. I have been visiting them now for nearly twenty years. As the years have gone by the shop has changed beyond recognition. I know change is good but I hanker after the old days. When the deli was packed to the rafters with produce and there was always a noisy background of Sicilian banter.
The shop has been opened up, allowing the light to flood in. The islands of shelves that were once tightly packed with every imaginable Italian produce now gone, replaced with long sleek modern tables and chairs. Terroni’s now serves coffee, lunches and snacks and very good ones at that.
There is still a trace of the old shop in the two large glass counters that sit at the back of the shop showcasing an array of charcuterie, cheeses, Italian sausages and a fine selection of Italian sweets and cakes. I tend to stand at the charcuterie side to give my order so as not to be tempted by the cakes. I can resist as long as I don’t catch sight of the sfogliatelle – then all is lost.
Today I had a bigger problem to deal with – they no longer appear to sell pasta flour. I haven’t visited them all summer and so it came as a bit of a shock to find the eating area has expanded and as a result their selection of dry goods has decreased. This is not good. It throws out of the window my carefully planned meal of ravioli. I am not good with change and cannot think what to do. I buy my cheese and bread and leave. Succumbing only to the smallest box of sweet delicacies – I need to ponder on this new problem of where to get pasta flour.
As I walk back through Hatton Garden I try and think what I am going to cook for supper. To add to my misery it starts to rain. I rack my brains of what is in the cupboard that will make a meal and save me from trekking elsewhere. All there is in the fridge of any note is a large bag of potatoes. Then it comes to me – Gnocchi!!! Necessity is the mother of invention.
It’s straight back home, feet up and maybe a small reward from inside the cake box before I put my potatoes on to cook.
Gnocchi is the simplest and most heavenly of recipes. A few potatoes can be turned into light soft potato dumplings that melt in the mouth. As my ingredients were limited I went for the simple accompaniment of sage and butter with a generous heap of Pecorino.
Gnocchi
2 –3 servings
Ingredients
500g floury potatoes (Maris piper, King Edwards or Desiree are good).
Salt
50-75 gm 00 pasta flour
1 egg yolk
Extra flour for rolling out
Method
Put unpeeled potatoes in a pan filled with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender. Drain. Allow to cool slightly and then remove the skins. Push the potatoes through a ricer. The potatoes should be cool before adding the egg yolk and some of the flour. Knead lightly. If you feel the mixture is too wet add more of the flour. I start off with 50 gms and add more if needed.
Flatten the dough into a rough flat square and cut into roughly 2cm wide strips. Take a strip and lightly roll into a sausage shape. Cut into 2/3 cms pieces.
Take each gnocchi piece and with your thumb gently push it against the tines of an upturned fork which we give you a groove to one side and roll back. This will make an indentation to the gnocchi. Place the gnocchi onto a floured tray and repeat.
To cook – bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and then carefully drop them in – be careful as they can splash back which can be a little painful on the hand. Give the pan a gentle stir and wait for them to start to rise to the surface. This will take about a minute. Once they have risen wait ten to twenty seconds and then remove them with a slotted spoon.
Butter and Sage Sauce
Ingredients
2/3 oz butter
6 sage leaves fresh
Salt and pepper
Method
Put the butter in a pan and heat. Add the sage leaves and seasoning and tilt the pan to turn the sage leaves. The butter will turn a caramel colour. Take off the heat and toss the gnocchi in coating them well.
Serve with a generous helping of Pecorino
N.B:
I didn’t have even shaped potatoes so I put in the pan what I had, checking the smaller ones first, and as soon as they were tender taking them out.
Instead of a fork I used a gnocchi ridger which also doubles up to make garganelli pasta (which is similar to penne).
Maria Dernikos 
You are wicked! You have my taste buds drooling.
All your writings bring back memories of the early years after my marriage when I followed Elizabeth David’s books and fell in love with Italian, French and Mediterranean cookery generally. Eastern cookery would follow in turn until cookery became one of my favourite occupations, and friends looked forward to our dinner parties.
The results were always tested on my late husband who was one of the most marvellous men to cook for; trying anything and everything, but if it didn’t come up to expectations, he would eat all then sum up diplomatically with, ‘Well, I don’t care if we never have that one again.’
Thank you Maureen.
The end of your comment made me laugh. Not my husband but someone closely related! always says after the first mouthful ‘Delicious. X Delicious. It doesn’t seem to matter what is on his fork its always the same comment. I always said I would want anything else as long as it was sincere. Saying that maybe not ‘I don’t care if we never have that one again!!!
Love your description of London – right down to the rain as you are leaving. There’s a beautiful little family-run Italian deli in Kingston which I think you would love. It’s tiny and packed to the rafters – only about 10 feet wide and it feels like stepping back in time forty years. Smells like heaven when you walk through the door. The father once said to his beautiful daughter who was slicing hot Genoa salami for me – “Hey Michelangelo – I pay you by the hour – not by the artwork – you are not supposed to be creating a salami masterpiece.” She just smiled at me and kept going exactly as she was.
Oh yes, and your gnocchi look PERFECT!
Thank you kind Lindy. Those shops are becoming rarer and rarer. My little Greek deli is exactly the same as it was forty years ago. When I asked them about this they said ‘why change’? Long may they continue to think that.
I could picture your salami masterpiece! no doubt he adored her.
Maria,
– I felt as if I were your passenger, accompanying you to purchase each ingredient where you find the freshest/best quality. That is exactly what I do. When leaving the house, I have a sheet in my hand with a list of shops and what to buy from each. It is never one-stop-shopping.
– I really like your writing/narrative. You transport us to places with your words. I really love your recipes and would love to watch you in action. Your blog is a gem, full of quality.
– I had gnocchi only once, tasting a bite from my friend’s order. I don’t recall much. I’ll have to change that. 😀
Maria, first off – funny you mention the name the owner gave the Italian deli you shopped at. You know that in Italian it is a derogatory term referring to people from Southern Italy? In the US “rednecks” would be a close equivalent. Funny that the guy decided to call his own shop that way – talk about self-irony! 🙂
Then of course your beautifully simple and tasty dish made me drool and want some for myself too!
Have a wonderful Sunday
Well! As they say ‘fancy that’! I didn’t know that at all. The whole area used to be called Little Italy, over the years it has changed. Thank you for you kind comment re the gnocchi.
These look much better than Monica’s!
In this case I would have to agree with you!!
Oh, I agree Maria. Gnocchi is simple and heavenly! Yours look perfect, light and airy. And I love sage and butter, especially munching on the burnt, crunchy sage. And no matter where we live, we all have our little go-to’s for specific foods, don’t we?
Thank you. Yes we do like going to our ‘special’ suppliers!! Its the case of only getting that particular brand. You could say I don’t like change.
I love that you travel for good ingredients. The description of the store was so vivid and the market. These are just gorgeous. I always wanted to know how to make them. I may attempt them soon. Would it work with sweet potato or squash? OMG butter and sage sauce on top. Lovely.
The secret of good gnocchi is that they are not too floury – sweet potato can be a little watery so you would need to add more flour. I have baked them before which cuts down the moisture. Adding too much flour can then make them quite heavy not the light pillowery dumplings that you are looking for.
Interesting. Thank you, Maria. I love the little grooving instrument you have.
Like you, I’ve got specific markets for specific items. It would upset the universe, I imagine, if I discovered that Store B had something that only should be bought in Store A. 🙂
Aren’t gnocchi wonderful? With our days growing steadily colder, I’ve been thinking of making gnocchi. Your perfect little pillows have convinced me to break out the ricer and make a batch. Thanks, Maria. 🙂
LOL we are on the same shopping list!! It makes me quite grumpy if things change on my shopping routine. Gnocchi are wonderful, filling and cheap! Plus I rather like sitting and making them – gives me time to reflect!!
Your gnocchi look gorgeous, Maria!!! And the sage and butter sauce perfectly compliment them.
Oops! I lost and “s”! 😉
what’s a small ‘s’ between friends! Thank you for your comment.
I am delighted to have found your blog. Before we moved to France, some 13 years ago, I made films at a studio in Mount Pleasant. Terroni’s was a regular stop off for me, at least twice a week. I can’t believe how it has changed ( I googled it to have a look). There used to be another good Italian shop opposite the Quality Chop House…I can’t think of its name but I always remember the curtain of red and yellow plastic strips through which one had to pass when entering the shop.
Lovely comment thank you,. So many places are disappearing in London. I used to shop in Berwick St market – now I don’t really recognise it. Lina’s maybe still be there but its not the same. The one shop that time hasn’t changed is The Athenian in Moscow Road.
I would love to go food shopping with you one day. Without finding what you were looking for, you still made an impressive meal. 🙂
If you find yourself in London you can with pleasure join me!
That would be a wonderful experience…perhaps some day we can make that happen.