A colour that inspires stories of taste, travel and community, we invited London-based chef Joseph Denison Cary aka @joechef_ to design a recipe inspired by Ochre, the new season colour in our Clifton luggage.
Born and raised in north London, Joe trained in Italy and, along with friends Henry and Noah, started the ‘Bread+Butter Supper Club’ as a way of bringing people together. We caught up with Joe in London to find out what travel means to him. Watch the video here, or read the full interview below.
“Travel was the beginning of my culinary journey — it started when I moved to Italy and went to culinary school and then worked in a restaurant, so that was where my love of food developed really, at least professionally.
“I think there are so many ways that food brings people together. I mean, initially I think about being in a kitchen, especially in London, where all of the chefs are from different parts of the globe; they all bring different cultures and ideas to the kitchen. And I think about the way that even food and recipes traverse the globe, and how they change from country to country. It’s a common thing that we all have. I think it’s such an easy way to bring people together.
“So when I saw Ochre for the first time, immediately I thought of autumn into winter, which made me think of mushrooms. It’s a great season for them. So once they’ve got that lovely caramel brown colour, once they’re cooked, add a little bit of shallot and garlic in there to soften, then some potato gnochhi, which takes quite a long time to make but once you’ve done it, it cooks in a few minutes, it’s great.
"Add some parsley, a little bit of salt, pepper and truffle oil, because that pairs really well with the mushrooms. It’s the perfect autumnal recipe.”
So there you have it — the perfect (European) seasonal dish. Ready to give it a go? Here’s the full recipe:
Joe’s potato gnocchi with king oyster mushrooms and truffle oil ·
Ingredients:
- 1kg Maris Piper potatoes
- 250g plain flour
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt
- 1 punnet king oyster mushrooms
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 shallot
- Truffle oil
- 250g butter (for frying mushrooms)
- 1 bunch parsley
- Black pepper (for seasoning)
- Olive oil
- Add the potatoes to a large pot of cool salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce a potato. Drain the potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm.
- Using your fingers, remove the skin from the potatoes. In a medium bowl, mash the potatoes until all lumps are gone. Make a well in the centre of the potatoes and crack an egg into it. Whisk the eggs briefly. Then, using your hands, gently mix it into the potatoes until evenly distributed.
- Put a cup of flour onto a clean surface and turn out the potato dough onto it. Knead the dough, only incorporating as much flour as you need along the way until the dough loses stickiness.
- Roll long ropes, about 1 inch wide and cut into small 1-inch pieces and put to the side.
- Chop the mushrooms, dice the shallots and mince the garlic. Bring a sauté (or frying) pan to medium-high heat and add a large knob of unsalted butter. Add the mushrooms and once those begin to brown, add the garlic and shallots to soften. Make sure to not crowd the pan.
- While the mushrooms are browning, bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add about 1 cup of the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook briefly for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan with the mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Add a pinch of salt, the truffle oil and parsley. Finish this in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Best served with fresh parsley and grated parmesan on top.
Follow @joechef_
Video by @leolightfoot @lightfootagency
Shop Clifton luggage in Ochre here.
