Truffled Potato Gnocchi

with lightly fermented macadamia cream

Story & Background

I wasn’t planning on making this dish at all.

I found the truffles the way you’re supposed to find truffles — by accident, at a farmer’s stand, not in some luxury deli.

Every Saturday I go to the same market in Zaragoza, set up right in front of the beautiful Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. It’s one of those places where even buying vegetables feels ceremonial. The stone, the bells, the river Ebro just behind, farmers setting up their tables early in the morning.

That day I was just walking through the stalls like usual when I caught that smell.

If you’ve worked with fresh truffle before, you recognize it immediately. Earthy, deep, almost cocoa-like but unmistakably fungal. There was a small expositor with fresh black truffles, still dusty with soil. No fancy packaging, just the farmer, a knife, and the aroma doing all the selling.

It brought me straight back to culinary school, almost 15 years ago.

One of my culinary teachers had his own small truffle plantation in the north of Spain, at the base of the Pyrennes mountains, near where I grew up. For him, truffles weren’t this luxury product you shave for show. They were seasonal, agricultural, something alive that you treated with restraint.

He used to repeat the same principles constantly, and they stayed with me because they’re simple but completely true:

Truffle isn’t about strong flavor — it’s about aroma. You don’t cook it. You don’t bury it under garlic or spices. You give it fat and starch, maybe gentle heat, and let it open up.

That’s why the classic pairings are always humble — potatoes, eggs, butter, cream, pasta. Soft, neutral bases that carry the aroma rather than compete with it.

So this dish came together from that mindset more than from a strict recipe. Potato gnocchi because they’re delicate and starchy. A lightly fermented macadamia cream for depth and roundness. Shallots and parsley just to give it a bit of lift. And the truffle shaved fresh at the end while everything is still hot.

Nothing aggressive. Just a soft base for the truffle to sit on.

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• 4–5 medium starchy potatoes (≈ 500 g flesh)

• 80–100 g all-purpose or 00 flour

• Pinch of salt

Sauce

• 1 shallot, very finely chopped

• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp lightly fermented macadamia cream (blended macadamias with water and probiotics, let to ferment gently overnight)

• 1 tbsp vegan or regular butter

• Small splash white wine

• Salt & white pepper to taste

Finish

• Fresh black truffle

Method

1) Cook the potatoes

Boil the potatoes whole, skin on, in salted water for 20–25 minutes, until tender.

Peel while still warm, then let them cool completely.
If possible, do this a few hours ahead or the day before — cold, dry potatoes make lighter gnocchi.

2) Make the dough

• Grate or rice the cold potatoes finely.

• Add the flour (about 15–20% of the potato weight).

• Add a pinch of salt.

Gently bring everything together with the help of a bench scraper into a soft dough.
Don’t knead like bread or pasta, just combine gently until it holds together. You’re folding, pressing, gathering.

Let the dough rest 15–20 minutes covered.

3) Shape the gnocchi

• Divide dough into portions.

• Roll into long sausages (about 2–2.5 cm thick) on a floured countertop (best to use rice flour)

• Cut into bite-sized pillows.

Optional: shape lightly on a fork for ridges, or roll into balls, but it's not necessary.

4) Prepare the sauce base

Meanwhile:

1. Melt the vegan butter in a wide pan and brown lightly on a low, gentle heat.

2. Add the chopped shallot and sauté briefly for 30 seconds.

3. Deglaze with a small splash of white wine.

4. Let the alcohol evaporate.

Keep heat low.

5) Cook the gnocchi

• Boil in salted water.

• They’re ready once they float (≈ 2-3 minutes).

Transfer directly into the sauce pan.

6) Finish the sauce

Add to the pan:

• 2-3 tbsp of the slightly soured macadamia cream

• A few tbsp gnocchi cooking water

• Salt & pepper, and a generous pinch of fresh parsley

Toss gently until lightly emulsified, bring the sauce to a boil, and plate immediately.

7) Plate & finish with truffle

Serve immediately while hot.

Shave fresh black truffle over the gnocchi using a truffle slicer, mandolin, or fine grater.

The heat releases the aroma right as it hits the plate — which is exactly what you want.

NOTE: Obviously, you don't need truffle for this recipe, it's a luxury item, and also extremely seasonal and localized in few parts of the world. You can make this delicious recipe for Gnocchi in macadamia cream sauce nevertheless!