Theo says: “Potato gnocchi is not complicated to make, and the general rule is, the less flour used the lighter the gnocchi. It is best eaten on the day it is made, and in Rome they always eat it on a Thursday. You will see signs outside trattorias saying what the week’s specialities are, and Thursday is always gnocchi day. It tastes the same any day of the week but, it just goes to show it has to be eaten fresh.

“The brown butter, asparagus and fresh ricotta taste delicious with the soft, chewy potato gnocchi and crispy sage. Thank god it’s Thursday!”

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

• 1kg (2lb 3oz) Désirée (or other red) potatoes, similar size, washed with skins on
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 200g (7oz) Tipo 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
• 300g (10½oz) asparagus spears, tough stems removed, sliced at an angle into 2cm (¾in) pieces
• 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter
• 12 sage leaves
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 150g (5½oz) parmesan, finely grated
• 200g (7oz) ricotta, seasoned with sea salt, freshly ground
• black pepper and olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Add the potatoes to a large saucepan, fill the pan with cold water and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and cook gently for 30 minutes. Check by pushing a skewer through; if there is no resistance, they are cooked. Drain into a colander.

When the potatoes are a bit cooler, but still warm, cut them in half and, using a tablespoon, scoop out the insides. Push the flesh through a potato ricer or mouli, into a bowl. Add the eggs, then fold in the flour. Place the mixture on a floured work surface and lightly knead with your hands until all the ingredients have combined well.

Divide into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a long sausage, using the palms of each hand. Cut each long sausage into 3cm (1¼in) pieces and dust a little flour on top. Take each piece and roll it over the back of an upturned folk (see overleaf), then place carefully in a single layer on a floured tray. Place the tray in the fridge but do not cover with cling film (plastic wrap) as the gnocchi will become soggy. If you want to cover them to cook the next day, cover with baking paper and secure with large elastic bands.

Heat a large pan of boiling salted water, add the asparagus and cook for 3 minutes, then remove and keep to one side, keeping the water to cook the gnocchi in later.

Add half the butter to a hot, large, non-stick frying pan and cook over a medium heat until the butter starts to foam, then add the sage and cook until the leaves go crispy and the butter slightly brown. Take out the crispy sage with a slotted spoon and transfer the browned butter to a bowl.

Add the remaining butter to the hot frying pan you just cooked the sage in, over a low heat, and add the garlic and cooked asparagus.

Bring the asparagus cooking water back to the boil, then add the gnocchi a few at a time. When all the gnocchi are in the water and are starting to rise, take them out with a slotted spoon and place them in the frying pan with the asparagus, adding a ladleful or two of the cooking water. Add half the parmesan, wiggle the pan and stir the gnocchi gently so they don’t break.

Once the sauce has emulsified and the gnocchi are coated, serve in warm pasta bowls with the seasoned ricotta, fried sage and reserved browned butter on top of each. Finish with the remaining parmesan and plenty of black pepper.

Theo says: “I remember the scent of wild garlic as a kid, and never really liked it. An easy way to convince me to eat it would be this pasta – cooked with cream it is very tasty. That, and my foraging friend Martine’s wild garlic pesto, which I very much enjoy when I visit her in Camargue in the south of France. English asparagus and wild garlic cross over in season, so this is a dish to cook in early spring to welcome in more light-filled days.”

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

• 200ml (7fl oz) double (heavy) cream
• 100g (3½oz) wild garlic, washed and roughly chopped into 2cm (¾in) pieces
• 300g (10½oz) asparagus spears, tough ends removed, sliced at an angle
• 250g (9oz) dried tagliatelle
• 100g (3½oz) pecorino, grated
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Add the cream to a hot, large, non-stick frying pan and bring to a simmer. Add the wild garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes so the leaves are wilted and soft.

Add the asparagus pieces to a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, keeping the water, and add the asparagus to the wild garlic and cream.

Add the tagliatelle to the asparagus cooking water, bring the water back to the boil and cook until the pasta has a nice bite still. Remove the pasta from the cooking water with a pair of tongs, again keeping the water, and add the tagliatelle to the frying pan with the asparagus, cream and wild garlic.

Add a ladleful of the pasta water to the pan and turn up the heat. Stir or toss the pasta so it starts to emulsify, add half the grated pecorino and keep stirring or tossing gently so as not to break the tagliatelle. Check the seasoning and add some freshly ground black pepper.

Serve in warm pasta bowls with the remaining pecorino sprinkled on top.

Theo says: “Asparagus and pesto add something really special to this classic combination. The soup works better by puréeing only half of it, as the texture of the asparagus gives the soup another dimension; pesto makes it fresher, too. This can be served in little cups for some sustenance at a stand-up drinks party, or just as a good old bowl of creamy soup.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 300g (10½oz) asparagus spears, tough stems removed, sliced into 1cm (½in) pieces
• 75g (2½oz) butter
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 2 medium leeks, cut into 2cm (¾in) pieces
• 500g (1lb 2oz) Désirée or Cyprus potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm (¾in) pieces
• 100ml (3½fl oz) double (heavy) cream
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pesto:

• ½ garlic clove
• pinch of sea salt
• 100g (3½oz) basil leaves
• 75g (2½oz) pine nuts
• (untoasted)
• 75g (2½oz) parmesan, finely grated
• 2 tbsp water
• 150ml (5fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish

Method

To make the pesto, in a pestle and mortar, crush the half garlic clove with the salt to a fine paste. Add the basil and crush until the leaves are pulped, then add the pine nuts, crush to a paste, then add the parmesan, followed by the water. Mix so everything is emulsified, then slowly stir in the olive oil. Keep to one side.

In a large, heavy-based saucepan filled halfway with salted boiling water (about 2 litres/68fl oz) add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes, then drain into a colander, reserving the cooking water in a jug (pitcher).

Give the saucepan a rinse and wipe with some kitchen paper. Place the pan back over a medium heat and add the butter and thyme, so the butter melts. Add the leeks, potatoes and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 litre (34fl oz) of the asparagus cooking water and cook for 10 minutes. Check the potatoes are soft by putting a knife through them; if there is no resistance, they are cooked.

Using a stick blender or food processor, purée half the soup and place back in the pan. Add the cream and bring back to a simmer. If you feel the soup is too thick, add another 100ml (31⁄2fl oz) of the asparagus water. Add the blanched asparagus and a generous spoonful of pesto to the soup. Check the seasoning, serve in warm bowls, and finish with another spoonful of pesto in each and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.