Mauritius Revisited

OK, so the setting for last nights dinner couldn't quite compete with the real thing. But, the food was as close as I could get it! Hubby and I spent 13 glorious days and nights on this beautiful island back in June / July last year for our honeymoon. I decided the most romantic thing I could make for last night's valentine's day meal was to try and recreate some of the dishes we most enjoyed while we were in Mauritius, including Hubby's favourite dish.

The menu for the evening was;

Gnocchi with Four Cheese Sauce

Foccacia Bread ~ even got a photo this time ;0)

Vanilla Pannacotta with Passionfruit Syrup

Blue Lagoon's

Hubby loved the gnocchi, said it was even better than the ones he had while we were away. I'm taking this as very high praise as he had it for lunch just about every day. Lunch was always served with freshly made bread rolls and a choice of three sauces on the side, they came served in little silver dishes with dinky little spoons and everyday the selection was different to the day before. I loved waiting for the bread to be served at our table, to see what that days flavours were. Sad I know! The Focaccia Bread with Pesto that we had a few weeks ago was quite similar in texture and flavour to the bread roll and condiments we were served so I opted to make that to serve alongside the gnocchi.

Four Cheese Gnocchi

115ml double cream

60g butter

2 tbsp dry white wine

100g parmesan cheese, grated

50g gorgonzola, crumbled

200g mascarpone cheese

100g grated mozzarella

1 tsp sea salt

Gnocchi

Bring a large saucepan of boiling water to the boil. Add the gnocchi and simmer until they float to the surface. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl.

To make the sauce, place the cream and butter in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the wine, cheeses and salt and whisk until smooth. Gently stir in the gnocchi to coat with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 as a starter

Taken from 'Cooking for Christmas'

This dish was very rich. I couldn't eat a whole bowl, Hubby had to finish it off and even he was struggling. I understand now why the cook book had it as a starter! That said though, it was very yummy and Hubby has asked for it again sometime soon. I think I may need to limit his expectations somewhat though, this is not a meal for regular consumption least I'll be walking through doors sideways!!!