Blistered Garlic Scape Relish

1 cup garlic scapes, chopped — roughly a half pound
1 tablespoon shallots, finely diced
4 tablespoons dill pickle brine*
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
pinch of chilies, optional
salt and pepper to taste

*use the brine from a jar of your favourite dill pickles or you can use cider vinegar

Preheat your grill to medium-high.

Rinse the scapes in cold water then immediately drop them onto the hot grill. Within a minute, the scapes will have started to blacken. Flip them over and repeat. At this point, the scapes will be charred and warmed through. Remove them and place them on a baking sheet to cool. Once cooled, cut them into small pieces and add the pieces into a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and season to taste.

This relish will last a few weeks, covered, in the refrigerator. It’s also a great topping for grilled meats, fish and vegetables.

Potato Gnocchi

2 to 3 large russet potatoes — should yield 21/2 to 3 cups cooked potato, scooped out of the skins
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
1 egg yolk, optional*
butter for sauce, optional

*the addition of egg yolk will make the dough firmer, which will make the cooking of the gnocchi easier for the less experienced, but will also make the finished gnocchi less tender.

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake the potatoes, whole, for approximately one hour or until the potato is easily pierced through the centre with a knife. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the oven and immediately cut them in half lengthwise, then allow them to rest allowing as much steam escape from them as possible. Once the steam has stopped, but the potatoes are still warm, scoop out all the potato flesh into a bowl (the skins can be made into potato skins). Using a ricer or a mesh stainer, press the potatoes through to a clean cutting board or table.

If you are using egg yolk, add it, beaten, to the potatoes. Sprinkle approximately 3/4 of the flour over the potatoes. Gently fold the potato and flour onto itself until the ingredients are well combined, adding additional flour as needed. Do not knead the dough like you would bread — this will make the gnocchi tough. The dough should be uniformly smooth and not sticky.

Once the dough is made, bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a simmer.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each 1/2 cup of dough out into a uniform 15-inch tube. Using a knife, cut the tube into 3/4-inch pieces (at this point firmer gnocchi can be rolled on a paddle or pressed with a fork to create indentations. They can now also be placed onto a sheet pan and frozen for later use). Carefully drop pieces of gnocchi into the simmering water — making sure not to overcrowd the bottom of the pot (fewer is better). Once the gnocchi pieces have risen to the surface, they can be removed from the pot. These gnocchi can be served right away or placed into a hot pan with oil or butter and sautéed until golden brown.

To serve, place the gnocchi into a soup plate or bowl (8 to 10 pieces per person as a appetizer or approximately 14 pieces as a main). In a small pan (or the pan you sautéed them in), add a knob of butter and a few spoonfuls of the starchy gnocchi water and whisk until the butter is melted. Drizzle the gnocchi with the butter sauce, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and top with the blistered garlic scape relish.