Method

1. Place whole potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil over high heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until just tender when tested with a skewer. Drain well. Set aside until just cool enough to handle. While still hot, peel by hand and discard skins. Using a potato ricer or mouli (French rotary grater), puree potatoes into a bowl. Season to taste with salt. Cool slightly.

2. Add flour to potatoes then use your hands to knead briefly until a soft dough forms. Turn dough on to a lightly floured surface.

3. Cut dough into 4 equal-sized pieces. Using your hands, gently roll each piece out to form a log about 2cm wide. Using a lightly floured knife, cut each log into 1.5cm-long pieces.

4. Roll each ball of gnocchi over the tines of a lightly-floured fork, pressing gently with your index finger or thumb underneath as you go, to form a dent in the back of each one and fork marks on the other side.

5. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil; once boiled add gnocchi. As they cook, gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water. Continue cooking gnocchi at the surface for about 10 seconds then remove with a large slotted spoon; drain well. Refresh in ice water.

6. Add nonstick pan to cook top and heat, place 50ml of olive oil into pan and add Pancetta till crisp for 1 minute per side. Set aside.

7. Drain oil from pan and add the chopped butter into a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook until melted then add sage leaves to pan. Cook butter and sage leaves, swirling pan often, for 2 – 3 minutes or until sage leaves are crisp and butter has turned a deep nut-brown colour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

8. Add cooked gnocchi to frying pan and toss to coat in burnt sage butter. Add torn pancetta to pan to warm. To serve, divide gnocchi among bowls, spooning over pancetta and any burnt butter that is left in the frying pan. Sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy immediately.