Recipe with Sapori Ristorante Italiano, Atlantic Hotel Chelmsford

JUST five minutes walk from Chelmsford town centre, Sapori restaurant, sapori is Italian for flavours, has opened within the Atlantic Hotel. General manager Tonino Pompeo, along with his team of four chefs, is passionate about serving dishes with only the true essence of authentic Italian cuisine.‘All of our dishes are made on the premises, freshly each day,’ says Tonino. ‘There are no freezers or microwaves; this is authentic Italian cookery along with some great Italian wines to try.’ The restaurant opened in October 2010 and imports its wines, olive oil, Parma ham and truffles from the Abruzzo region of Italy on the Adriatic Coast. ‘It’s where we all come from and it’s a part of Italy renowned for its finer ingredients,’ Tonino adds.The restaurant offers a choice of a la carte plus a bar menu if you prefer a lighter bite and all are prepared with the traditional care and attention you would only normally find by travelling to Italy itself. The staff are mainly from the Abruzzo region too. ‘It’s who we are and how we eat, therefore you get a taste of genuine Italian cuisine when you dine with us,’ explains Tonino.Sapori specialises in fresh seafood, homemade pasta served with a tempting array of sauces, plenty of rustic breads made each day on the premises plus a delicious selection of fabulously flamboyant desserts to finish. Here Tonino shares his traditional gnocchetti with lobster recipe. Buon appetito!

IngredientsServes 6

For the gnocchetti pasta• 1 kg of red skin potatoes• 350gm of ’00’ flour (doppio zero) sieved• 1 large egg yolk• A pinch of salt

For the sauce• 1 whole live lobster 500/600gm• 1 small aubergine • 100gm of cherry tomatoes• Three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil from Abruzzo• 1/4 glass of white wine • 1 clove of garlic• � of one fresh chilli• Two or three leaves of fresh basil

To prepareSteam the potatoes with there skin on until cooked. Peel, mash and leave them to cool. Add the flour, egg and salt and make the dough using your hands.Roll the gnocchi dough into small little round stripes and cut into a small size.For the sauce, pour the olive oil into a pan, add the garlic and chilli until nice and golden. Then add the lobster meat (which has been pre-boiled in hot water with a mixture of herbs for 13 minutes), the cherry tomatoes, the crispy aubergine, previously deep fried with corn flour, white wine and basil.Cook the potato gnocchi in boiling salted water for 2 minutes and add to the sauce.Reduce the sauce with the gnocchi for one more minute in the pan and then its ready to serve. 

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Sapori Ristorante ItalianoNew StreetChelmsford CM1 1PP01245 268179