Barbara Lynch Makes A Gnocchi And Foie Gras

We bet Barbara Lynch would be a magnificent chess player.

Boston's restaurant queen is incredibly good at doing the unexpected. Her entire career is the stuff of legend: A high-school dropout from South Boston who now owns nine different culinary endeavors.

Likewise, her food has never fit perfectly within a specific genre. Her trademark dish, gnocchi stuffed with prunes in foie gras sauce, is a perfect example. It weaves together her reputation for Italian food with her love of French technique.

The easiest definition? Delicious. Delicate potato gnocchi encase a purée of wine-poached prunes, its sweetness countered by a silky foie gras-butter sauce. It's the only dish that has been on the menu at Lynch's flagship, No. 9 Park, since day one.

The recipe (see it here) requires some time and patience, but is a worthy project for a special-occasion dinner. We'll be taking notes firsthand when Lynch visits our Test Kitchen and Dining Room next month as part of our Guest Chef Series, and makes the dish as part of a multicourse dinner. [Editor's note: This event has already occured.]

And after dinner, maybe we'll pull out the chess board.