Homemade potato gnocchi

Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 5. Prick the potatoes all over with a skewer (keep the skin on). Bake for 1-1½ hours, or until completely soft. Check the centres with a skewer to make sure they’re cooked all the way through – it should go through the centre easily. Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle. Beat the egg, ricotta and the chopped tarragon together with some salt and pepper.

Cut the cooled potatoes in half, and scoop the flesh out into a bowl.

Put the potato flesh through a ricer, or push though a sieve with a wooden spoon.

Beat the ricotta mix with the potato and season really well.

Sift over the flour, and knead into the bowl to make a dough. Divide into 8 portions.

Roll each portion out onto a floured work surface, to make a long thin sausage, then cut into 2.5cm pieces.

Mark the gnocchi using the back of a fork, and round the corners off. Put onto a floured baking tray when done, and continue with the rest.

Cook the gnocchi in a large pan of boiling salted water in batches. Cook for about 1 minute until they rise to the surface of the water, then strain into a colander. Allow to dry out for 30 seconds before tipping into warm bowls.

Melt the butter and cook until it turns a golden, nutty brown, add the tarragon leaves for a minute then take off the heat and season with lots of black pepper and tip into a heatproof bowl to stop it cooking. Spoon over the cooked gnocchi and season with more black pepper, if you like.