Here is a delicious, nutritious and satiating dish, perfect for these late summer days. The nettle dumplings conquer with their bright green color, the mushroom sauce fills the nostrils with sweet and forest aromas and the hazelnuts give it crunchiness. But it's not just this. This preparation also provides minerals, good fatty acids and fiber for the well-being of body and mind. In fact, nettles are a source of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and carotenoids, mushrooms help support the immune system and hazelnuts nourish the brain, acting as antioxidants and counteracting neurodegenerative diseases (Olofinnade et al, Curr Aging Sci, 2021 - Chakravartula et al, Foods, 2021 - Vlassopoulou et al, J Fungi, 2022). In short, health and taste are served!
Ingredients
300 grams of potatoes
300 grams of nettles
150 grams of whole wheat flour
1 yolk
400 grams of mushrooms (king oyster mushroom are excellent, but champignons are also good)
1 small red onion
20 grams of hazelnuts
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Boil the potatoes in their skins. When they are tender, drain the potatoes and let them cool down. Then peel the potatoes and mash them with a potato masher. Blanch the nettles, drain them and let them cool. Squeeze the nettles, then chop them and add them to the mashed potatoes. Add the yolk, a pinch of fine ground salt and mix. Incorporate the flour and knead until you get a homogeneous mixture. Divide the dough into several pieces with which you will form rolls, about half a centimeter in diameter. Cut the sausages into 1 1/2 cm pieces and set aside. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth and cut them into slices. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the finely sliced onion. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, adding a tablespoon of water if necessary. Boil the dumplings in boiling salted water, draining them as soon as they come to the surface. Put the gnocchi into the pan with the mushroom sauce and let it cook for a minute. Then distribute on plates and add the coarsely ground hazelnuts.