For this instalment of The Edibles we documented the Parisian gnocchi at Statler & Waldorf in Petrie Terrace. 

A season plentiful with fresh produce, spring also delivers a new crop of edible flowers and weeds to add a touch of colour back on to the creative plates before us. With a focus on using local, ethical and seasonal produce, Petrie Terrace gastronomy pub Statler & Waldorf has released its new spring menu to welcome in the lush new harvests. Chef Andrew Tolley has been spending his weekends foraging edible weeds and flowers from two farms on the Sunshine Coast to add the real taste of the local earth’s bounty to the menu. His Parisian gnocchi with stinging nettle, Jerusalem artichoke and duck egg sees the Parisian-style gnocchi made with a choux pastry base. Stinging nettle has been foraged from the Walker Farm at Maleny – no easy feat – before it is blanched and refreshed, and woven through the gnocchi. Jerusalem artichoke has been finely shaved and fried in oil, while a variety of edible flowers from Alexina Johnson’s garden in the Obi Obi Valley too dot the plate. Along with a lemon butter sauce, a 63˚C duck egg that has been cooked for one hour accompanies the dish – smash the yolk and scoop up the sticky golden mess with your gnocchi rounds.