Alex Wong's ricotta gnudi, pine mushroom and shiitake from Lana restaurant. Photography by Leigh Griffiths. Adapting to the changing demands of its customers, Circular Quay favourite Lana – think modern Italian meets punchy Asian flavours – is entering Autumn with a new sharing menu. New head chef Peter Tran (formerly of Pendolino) has joined the team alongside executive chef Alex Wong, who has kindly shared his recipe for ricotto gnudi (gnocchi-like dumplings) with pine and shiitake mushrooms with T Australia.
For the gnudi:
350g dry ricotta
75g grated parmesan
1tsp salt
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
27g “00 flour”
200g Semolina
200g “00 flour”
METHOD:
Start this recipe the day before. Place ricotta, parmesan, salt and egg into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat on high until smooth. Alternatively, mix with a spoon vigorously until smooth. Add flour and mix well.
Transfer into piping bag. Mix semolina and flour in a bowl and sprinkle over a tray. Pipe golf ball-sized balls onto the flour and press down lightly. Aim to have a 4mm gap between the balls. Once all piped, dust gnudi balls with a bit of the semolina and flour mix from the tray and then place in the fridge uncovered for 24 – 36hrs.
The flour mixture creates a nice crust on the gnudi, ensuring they do not explode when cooking.
For the shiitake dashi (makes way more than needed)
20g strip dried konbu
2L cold water
200g dried shiitake mushrooms
100g dried porcini mushroom
40g ginger, sliced
50g parmesan rind
2g whole black peppercorn
250ml mirin
125ml tamari
METHOD:
Heat water and konbu and bring to a simmer. Add the dried shiitake and porcini mushrooms along with the ginger, parmesan rind, and black peppercorn and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, add then add the tamari and mirin and set in fridge to cool overnight. The next day, strain through a fine sieve.
ASSEMBLING THE GNUDI DISH:
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed (not cut or chopped)
1 punnet fresh shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed, cut into chunks
2 sprigs thyme
16 pieces of gnudi
150 – 250ml of mushroom dashi
50g butter
30g grated parmesan
Fresh black pepper to finish.
METHOD:
Place a large pot of water to the boil, add a generous amount of salt (water should taste like sea water) and bring to a rolling boil.
Place a medium sized stainless-steel pan or wide based pot over high heat. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook for about a minute until fragrant. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook until soft, seasoning with salt. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside.
To the same pan, add 150ml of the mushroom dashi and the butter and bring to the boil, emulsifying the butter into the dashi. Add in extra of the mushroom dashi if required.
Meanwhile, using a wooden spoon or tongs, create a whirlpool in the salted boiling water, and drop in the gnudi balls carefully. Allow the water to come back to the boil and once the gnudi float, they are cooked. Gently remove with a slotted spoon or a sieve and place them straight into the butter sauce.
Once all the gnudi balls are in the sauce, cook until the sauce thickens slightly (you don’t want it too). Remove from heat, add the parmesan and swirl the pan (toss if you can) so the gnudi absorbs sauce, and sauce becomes emuslified. Finish with a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Divide onto two plates, and add some of the shiitake mushrooms.
*** the leftover shiitake dashi can be used as a stock for cooking pasta or ragu or even a vegetarian udon dish.
