Tomato consommé with Hebden Goat cheese gnocchi by Tom Parker, The White Swan at Fence

Tom Parker, head-chef and joint owner of Michelin-starred White Swan at Fence, uses Hebden Goat cheese and season-fresh tomatoes in this amazing dish.

Serves 5

Ingredients: Consommé
20 ripe tomatoes
5 shallots
5 cloves garlic
500ml tomato juice
100ml white wine
1 bunch basil
2 tbsp sugar
Salt to season

Ingredients: Gnocchi
2kg Désirée potatoes, washed
250g Hebden Bridge goats’ cheese
200g plain flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt

Ingredients: Garnish
20 small tomatoes, peeled
20 Nasturtium leaves
20 Viola flower petals
10 leek flower petals
10 broad bean flower petals
[other edible flowers can be used as appropriate]
100ml basil oil or a good quality olive oil

Method: Tomato consommé
Chop the tomatoes, shallots and garlic and place in a saucepan with the rest of the consommé ingredients.
Bring to the boil, and then simmer for one hour.
Remove from the heat and pour into a muslin cloth set above a bowl.
Allow the liquid to drip through for a couple of hours.

Method: Goats’ cheese gnocchi
Place the potatoes on a baking tray in a hot oven (200°C) and bake until soft on the inside – around 2 hours.
Remove potatoes from the oven and cut in half, so you can scoop the soft potato from the inside of the skins and pass the potato through a fine mesh drum sieve (or simply mash as finely as possible).
Whilst the potatoes are still very hot, add the Hebden Goat cheese, flour, egg and salt.
Mix in lightly: it is very important not to mix too much!
Roll out to 1 cm deep, cut in to 3cm squares and score with a fork.
Fry in a hot pan until crispy.

Method: Final Assembly
Assemble the garnish inside the soup bowls with the warm gnocchi on one side. At the table pour the re-heated tomato consommé over the garnish.