Prune-Stuffed Gnocchi with Seared Foie Gras & Butter Sauce
Prunes don’t often spark culinary excitement. Their reputation leans more toward nostalgia or necessity rather than indulgence. But let’s not forget—prunes are simply dried plums, packed with natural sweetness and complexity. It’s all about how you use them.
This dish, originally crafted by Chef Barbara Lynch of Boston’s acclaimed No. 9 Park, proves that prunes deserve a starring role. Served as part of a celebratory tasting menu at the restaurant’s 25th anniversary, her prune-stuffed gnocchi redefines expectations. The delicate pillows of potato dough encase a rich prune purée, perfectly balanced by a silky butter sauce, seared foie gras, and a scattering of chopped Marcona almonds for texture.
The recipe, found in Lynch’s cookbook Stir, was a parting gift from the restaurant—and with that in hand, I had no choice but to attempt a recreation. Be warned: this is not a beginner-friendly endeavor. The process is meticulous, some ingredients require extra effort to source, and precision is key. But if you can make gnocchi, you can make this. And once you do, you’ll never think of prunes the same way again.
Making Prune Stuffed Gnocchi
This is my attempt to re-create Barbara Lynch’s prune stuffed gnocchi as faithfully as possible. I had to substitute a different wine and use processed prunes, because there were no fresh prunes to be found.
Combine the pitted prunes with a splash of cream sherry in a food processor until you have a rough puree and refrigerate, then make the gnocchi dough.
Stuff the gnocchi by placing a teaspoon of filling in the center of a round, folding it over and pressing the edges together.
Freeze the finished gnocchi and place in an airtight bag. The gnocchi may be made up to a week in advance and boiled when ready to serve.
Make the Foie Gras Butter Sauce
Force the foie gras through a fine mesh sieve to remove any veins.
This is what it should look like after straining.
Combine the room temp butter with the foie gras. Shape it into a log and refrigerate to firm it up. The butter in the mixture above was still a little cold, but it still incorporated nicely in the sauce.
Place the shallots, thyme, peppercorns and coriander in a pot with the sherry and cook on high heat until the liquid has reduced almost to a glaze. Lower the heat to medium low and whisk in the foie gras butter 1/6th at a time until it is all incorporated. Pass it through a clean fine mesh strainer and keep warm, not hot or it will separate.
If it separates whisk in a little hot water or cream to stabilize the sauce
Assembling the Prune Stuffed Gnocchi
Sear the foie gras, set aside and keep warm.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. While doing so slice the foie gras into pieces for garnish.
Cook the gnocchi in batches 5 or 6 of them at a time for 2-3 minutes. When they rise to the surface lift them out with a spider and keep warm.
Place the gnocchi into shallow bowls, dented sides up, spoon the sauce over them and top with the seared foie gras, almonds and chopped prunes. Finish with a pinch of fleur de sel over each serving.
Prune Stuffed Gnocchi
Potato gnocchi stuffed with prune puree in butter sauce with seared foie gras
- Yield: 16-18 1x
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 20 Sunsweet pitted prunes
- 1 splash cream sherry
- 1 pitted prune – chopped
- 1 lb russet potatoes – whole unpeeled
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Sauce
- 6 oz foie gras – half room temp, half refrigerated
- 6 TBL unsalted butter – cut into pats – room temp
- 1/2 cup shallots – finely chopped
- 8 small fresh thyme sprigs
- 15 black peppercorns
- 15 coriander seeds
- 2 cups cream sherry
Garnish
- 1 TBL Marcona almonds – chopped
- Small parsley leaves
- Fleur de sel
Instructions
Gnocchi Filling
- Place 20 pitted prunes and a splash of cream sherry into a food processor
- Process them, scraping the sides several times until you have a nice puree and refrigerate until ready to use
Gnocchi Dough
- Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with 3 inches of well salted water. Turn the heat to high, cover, bring to a boil and cook until very tender about 30 minutes after they begin to boil. Test with a toothpick.
- Drain, place the potatoes on a baking sheet and let them cool until you can handle them – about 10 minutes
- Peel and rice the potatoes, spread onto the baking sheet to cool – About 15 minutes. This allows the steam and water to escape for a drier dough. When cool dump and spread them onto a lightly floured work surface
- Sprinkle 3/4 cup of flour over the potatoes and fluff the flour into the potatoes with your fingers using a light touch, then gather the potatoes into a mound and make a well in the center
- Whisk together the eggs and 1/2 tsp salt in a small bowl and pour them into the potato well. Add a couple grinds of black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
- Use your fingers to combine all the ingredients, then knead the dough by pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand, folding it over, giving it a quarter turn and pushing it away again
- Continue kneading, sprinkling a little more flour as needed until it forms a ball and the dough feels delicate and just a little bit sticky. Roll into a ball, set aside and clean the work surface
- Sprinkle the work surface lightly with flour and roll out the dough to about 3/16 to 1/4” thick
- Use a 3” round cookie cutter to punch out rounds of dough. Re-roll the scraps and cut out as many circles as you can. Line up the circles in a row to the side
Stuff the Gnocchi
- Line a half-sheet with parchment paper
- Place a teaspoon of the pureed prunes in the center of each dough circle – do not overfill
- Fold the dough In half over the filling to make a half moon shape and press the edges to seal or use a smaller cookie cutter to seal the edges
- Place the gnocchi sitting up and use a finger to put a 1/2” deep indentation in the middle of the top
- Transfer to the baking sheet. Don’t allow them to touch and freeze them until completely frozen
- Transfer to an air tight container and keep frozen until ready to use – up to a week in advance
Sauce (steps 1 and 2 may be done a day in advance)
- Pass the room temp foie gras through a fine sieve into a medium bowl
- Use a wooden spoon to combine the foie gras and butter. Shape it into a log on plastic wrap, parchment or waxed paper, wrap well and refrigerate until firm
- Place the shallots, thyme, peppercorns and coriander in a pot with the sherry and cook on high heat until the liquid has reduced almost to a glaze
- Lower the heat to medium low and whisk in the foie gras butter 1/6th at a time until it is all incorporated
- Pass it through a clean fine mesh strainer and keep warm, not hot or it will separate
- If it separates whisk in a little hot water or cream to stabilize the sauce
Serving
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil
- Slice the remaining foie gras into 1” x 1” x 1/2″” slices about 12-18 pcs
- Sear for 1 minute on each side, set aside and keep warm
- Cook the gnocchi in batches 5 or 6 of them at a time with a slotted spoon or spider
- When they rise after 2-3 minutes remove and keep warm until all the gnocchi are cooked
- Cut the seared foie gras into small pieces – enough to place 3-4 pieces in each portion
- Divide and place the gnocchi into shallow bowls, dented sides up, spoon the sauce over them and top with the seared foie gras
- Sprinkle a little of the chopped almonds, reserved chopped prune and parsley over the gnocchi
- Finish with a pinch of fleur de sel over each serving