The Missoni family lives life in colour. Their lifestyle blends elegance with enthusiasm and spontaneity with sophistication. Missoni fashion style is recognized and admired all over the world and is collected by fashionistas and museums alike. This same streak of easy glamour also inspires the Missoni family’s entertaining, and their dinner parties have become one of the most coveted invitations of Fashion Week. Lush and informal at the same time, a Missoni feast is not just a kaleidoscope of style with four generations of family wearing Missoni — it’s a kaleidoscope of tastes, scents, and colours.
And whether the meal is for twenty or two hundred, it always features family recipes curated for the season and for the occasion, recipes which have now become legendary. And just as Missoni fans around the world collect the brand’s iconic zigzags, Francesco Maccapani Missoni, the son of Missoni’s creative director, Angela Missoni, collects family recipes — and as it turns out, their cuisine is just as singular as their style. Francesco has a healthy respect for tradition, and with The Missoni Family Cookbook, he chronicles the Missoni culinary tradition, making these delicious, well-guarded family recipes available to the home cook for the first time. This book invites you right into the home of the family known so well through fashion, so that you can join the Missonis a tavola – at their table.
The Missoni Family Cookbook is available from Assouline, price €60.
GNOCCHI VERDI, serves 6
INGREDIENTS
For the gnocchi:
- 17½ oz fresh spinach
- 3 lb ricotta
- 3 large egg yolks
- 4 oz type 00 flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the sage-infused butter:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 leaves fresh sage
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
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METHOD
- Wash the spinach thoroughly.
- Bring a large pot of water over high heat to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for about 2 minutes, or until tender; drain the spinach into a colander.
- Using your hands, shape the spinach into a ball, pressing firmly to drain well. Place the spinach in a large cloth and twist it tightly over the sink, removing all excess water.
- In a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, chop the spinach until it achieves a superfine consistency. Add the ricotta, the egg yolks, the 4 ounces of the flour, and the nutmeg; season with sea salt and white pepper. Pulse until well combined.
- Dust some of the flour over a clean work surface, a baking sheet, and your hands. Shape the spinach-ricotta mixture into 1–1½-inch balls. Dust them with flour and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bring a large pot of salted water over medium-high heat to a boil. Add the gnocchi in batches to avoid overcrowding. Allow each batch to cook for 2–3 minutes, or until they float to the surface. Remove each batch from the pot using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain.
- Make the sage-infused butter: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the sage leaves and fry for 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- To serve, place 5–6 gnocchi in six shallow serving dishes (there will be plenty left for second helpings). Sprinkle the gnocchi with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and drizzle them with the hot sage-infused butter to melt the cheese. Serve hot.
See also: Feeding 40,000 at Jalsa Salana
