Golden Brown-Butter Kopytka with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Scrub the potatoes, prick them all over with a fork and bake them directly on the oven rack for 55 min, until a knife slides into the centre with no resistance. Baking instead of boiling keeps the flesh dry and fluffy, so the dough needs less flour and the kopytka come out lighter.

   Add in this stepLarge floury potatoes, unpeeled 600 g

   oven

2. Pour the just-boiled water over the porcini and leave to soak. Halve the hot potatoes (hold them with a cloth), scoop out the flesh and press it through a ricer onto a board. Spread it out and leave for 15 min, until completely cool.

   Add in this stepDried porcini mushrooms 5 gJust-boiled water (for soaking) 150 ml

3. Gather the potato into a mound, make a well and add the yolks, nutmeg, salt, potato starch and most of the flour. Knead lightly for under a minute, just until smooth and no longer sticky. The less you work it, the more tender the dumplings.

   Add in this stepEgg yolks 1Freshly grated nutmeg 1 pinchSalt (for the dough) ½ tspPotato starch 20 gPlain flour 126 g

4. Dust the worktop with the remaining flour. Roll the dough into ropes 2 cm thick, flatten them slightly and cut diagonally every 2 cm into diamonds. Set them apart on a floured tray.

   Add in this stepPlain flour 14 g

5. Lift the porcini out of their water, squeeze them and chop finely; strain the soaking liquid through a paper towel to remove any grit. Melt part of the butter in a 24 cm pan on medium-high heat and fry the sliced mushrooms, chopped shallot and thyme for 7 min, until browned. Add the porcini and their liquid, lower to low heat and simmer for 5 min, until reduced by half. Take off the heat, remove the thyme, stir a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the sour cream to warm it, then stir it into the pan and season with pepper. Adding it off the heat stops it splitting.

   Add in this stepButter 18 gChestnut or button mushrooms 150 gShallots 1Thyme sprigs 1Full-fat sour cream 100 gBlack pepper to taste

   medium-high heat→low heat

6. Bring 3 L of water to a rolling boil on high heat and add the salt. Cook the kopytka in batches; once they float, cook for 2 min more, then lift out with a slotted spoon and let them steam-dry on a tray for a minute.

   Add in this stepSalt (for the cooking water) 2 tsp

   high heat

7. Heat the rest of the butter in a 26 cm frying pan on medium-high heat until it foams and smells nutty. Add the kopytka in a single layer (in batches if needed) and fry for 5 min, turning once, until golden and crisp on both sides.

   Add in this stepButter 27 g

   medium-high heat

8. Gently rewarm the sauce without boiling, spoon it onto warm plates, pile the kopytka on top and finish with dill and a turn of pepper.

   Add in this stepChopped dill 1 tbsp