You are here: Home / Archives for gnocchi

November: Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce

November 15, 2010 by 2 Comments
Pin It

Recipe of the Month — November 2010

Makes enough Gorgonzola Sauce for 2 lb gnocchi. If leftover, it’s great on chicken!
Gnocchi are available to purchase at specialty food stores and most grocery stores now.

Subscribe to my blog and check out my homemade gnocchi recipe with step by step instructions.

Fry 1/4 lb pancetta chopped into small bits. Drain and set aside.

3 tbsp. butter
1 large clove garlic chopped finely
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 c. white wine
1 1/2 c. heavy cream warmed
4 oz Gorgonzola Dolce broken into bits ( The Dolce makes for a milder creamier sauce .)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
Freshly Ground black pepper to taste
Chopped Fresh Basil for garnish.

Melt butter in saucepan and add chopped garlic. Cook for about a minute. And add flour and saute in butter for a couple of min. to cook the flour a little. With heat at medium add white wine and stir for about 3 minutes.   Then add the warmed cream and stir constantly until smooth and flour is cooked in and has disappeared (about 3-4 min).  Add Gorgonzola and stir until until Gorgonzola has melted into sauce.  Add salt and black pepper to taste. Thin with a little cream or milk if sauce becomes too thick.  Pour over prepared gnocchi and sprinkle the crispy pancetta over the top. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.

TROPPO BELLA!

Follow Me on Pinterest
Filed Under: Gnocchi, Recipes of the Mo · Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Gnocchi With Pork Ragu

November 2, 2010 by 6 Comments
Pin It

This Pig Needs No Lipstick!

 

Buon giorno!

 

When I think of Gnocchi, I automatically envision the Classic Tuscan dish, Gnocchi con Sugo Cinghiale or Gnocchi with Wild Boar Sauce. Since today’s grocery meat department is generally devoid of wild boar, my taste reverts to making MY favorite preparation of Gnocchi which is served with Pork Ragu . This sauce is, in my mind and heart, the standard among tomato sauces and can be used with so many types of pasta. It is easy and not expensive to prepare. This sauce illustrates the saying “Appetito vien mangiando” or Appetite comes with eating, as this is the sauce that brings an appetite to life! I like to use different sauces with my Gnocchi, but I suggest this Pork Ragu is the signature and reminds me most of that mouth watering Boar Sauce that is steeped in Tuscan tradition!

As I was growing up in our little house in Binghamton, New York, this was the type of sauce (with a couple of minor additions from me) that my mother, Loretta, most often made. It was Sunday Sauce. I can hear her say “the most flavorful sauce is made with pork – especially the bones!” The aroma of this pork sauce would permeate the house for hours, and I would wait for the moment when she would call me to “taste” the sauce. This taste test consisted of a piece of crusty Italian bread and a spoonful of the hot sauce on top. It brought a burst of flavor on the tongue and would wet my appetite for the meal to follow. I often sneaked a second taste when her attention was diverted.

Speaking of sneaking, my father, Attilio, would inevitably “slip” something into the sauce that Loretta did not know about. If asked, he called it “Sale da Gaeta”. (Translation: Salt from Gaeta – Gaeta being a city on the water between Rome and Naples from where the famous and wonderful wrinkly olives hail) Whenever a dish was especially delicious, he announced “Ah! It’s Sale da Gaeta!” None of us ever saw this “special salt” and very often, we assumed that his little addition to the recipe was usually red pepper flakes or “hot pepper” as he called it! He always had a container of this at the dinner table where he liked to add just a little more heat! (Hear more about Loretta and Attilio at“About Linda” at Linda’s Italian Table)

Each region of Italy seems to treat this sauce a little differently. Each area uses a different meat or combination of meats. Some use boar, some venison, some pork, beef, veal or all three. My mother, using the pork, left the meat on the bone alla Napoletana instead of shredding it Tuscan style. Everyone, then, received a large piece of meat still on the bone which was served separately after the pasta course and before the salad which is the traditional Italian style of presenting the meal.

When selecting the pork for this dish, it is your choice. Some even prefer to use Italian Sausage. When I choose to use sausage in any sauce, I always like a combination of sweet (mild) and hot. My family would almost always be most likely to use a cut of pork with the bones, and sometimes would combine both sausage and pork in the sauce. For Gnocchi, my personal preference is to use just the pork with bones. After the pork is shredded, it becomes very tender and surprisingly light with the Gnocchi. Any very inexpensive cut of pork from neck bones to ribs – anything really – can be used here. The desired effect is a combination of intense flavor and tender meat. The meat will cook in the sauce so long that it will tenderize and fall from the bone making it easy to serve. Andiamo!
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

PORK RAGU!

About 3 lb pork on bones, can be ribs, neck bones or other

 

 

 

 

1/4 lb pancetta diced

4 cloves garlic – chopped finely

4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped – the sweeter the onion the sweeter the sauce!

1 stalk celery chopped

8 baby carrots chopped in very small pieces ( baby carrots are sweeter!)

1 c. red Italian wine (vino rosso) – could be a Chianti or Valpolicella

2 28 oz cans San Marzano Tomatoes- if you can find them because San Marzano tomatoes are by far the tastiest – if you can’t – use other- can use crushed or whole peeled and crush them

1/2 c. chopped Fresh Flat (preferable) Leaf Italian Parsley

1/2 cup chopped Fresh Basil

2 Tbsp chopped Fresh Oregano

1 tsp sugar

1 – 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt (to taste)

6-7 twists of the Black Pepper grinder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Fresh Basil chopped for garnish

Begin by just browning the pancetta pieces.

Add the olive oil and then the garlic and pork with heat at medium being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Just brown each side of the pork as it will cook thoroughly in the sauce. Remove the pork pieces, set aside, and add the onion, celery, and carrots. Stir occasionally and cook these vegetables about 5 min until just tender.

Then add the browned meat back to the pan followed by the wine.Scrape the bottom of the pan a little to release the small bits from the bottom of the pan, turning the meat to let the wine seep into both sides. Cook the wine for about 2-3 min at medium high and let it bubble.

Then add the San Marzano Tomatoes, and all herbs and remaining seasoning including the sugar. ( Loretta and Attilio would be taken aback by this last addition as they used to whisper “so and so puts sugar in their sauce” as if some law had been broken.) In ancient times, sugar was said to be used only by the wealthy as it was considered dear. In our household it was – GASP ! - the Cardinal Sin.

My personal take on this is that the sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and adds a little balance to the sauce.

If you have a rind or a piece of one from your Parmigiano-Reggiano, go ahead and drop it in the sauce as it simmers! It will add another level of flavor.

Simmer this sauce on low heat for about 3 hours – stirring occasionally. I like to cover mine while simmering. You know it’s done when the meat is so tender that is falls easily from the bones.

When sauce is finished, remove the pork pieces to a separate dish. the meat should be falling off the bones and you might have to “fish” for it.

The next step is familiar to those especially in the South who make barbecue. Take 2 forks and gently use them to shred the meat pulling in opposite directions.

Discard the bones and the fat. You might want to stir a couple of tablespoons of the sauce into the meat. I like to keep the meat separate from the sauce until serving time.

To serve, prepare the gnocchi as directed in last week’s post “Making Gnocchi” and place it in a serving dish bathing it in the delicious sauce. I take the shredded pork and mound it in the middle.

Garnish with chopped Fresh Basil and present to your guests with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese.

This makes a large amount of sauce, so what you do not use can be frozen for another great pasta meal – perhaps with Pappardelle!

My favorite accompaniment to this meal is a Zenato Valpolicella Superiore Doc 2007. .

PARLA COME MANGI!

**Also: See the new November RECIPE OF THE MONTH on LINDA’S ITALIAN TABLE – for another great sauce recipe for GNOCCHI!

Food Photos by Tommy Hanks Photography

Follow Me on Pinterest
Filed Under: Gnocchi, Sauce · Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gnocchi: Its Pillow Talk!

October 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Pin It

PILLOW TALK – THE ART OF MAKING GNOCCHI!

Finished Gnocchi – ready to cook or store

Buon Giorno!

Let’s make GNOCCHI – Step by Step!

Gnocchi – my favorite thing! Exactly how many “favorite” things will you catch me claiming? Careful… when it comes to Italian food my list is just out of control! Making Gnocchi at home is such a rewarding experience for fun in the kitchen, as well as, sheer bliss on a plate that I look for any opportunity to create those tasty little “pillow-like” nuggets.

What is Gnocchi exactly? Gnocchi can be made of many different things but most often potatoes. They are thought to have originated in the Middle East, but Italy definitely put them on the map! Many countries offer a dumpling-like dish that is similar but usually do not include eggs in their recipes.

When I was growing up, very few people outside of Italians knew about or spoke about Gnocchi. Now they are common on most good Italian menus. In Rome, they are traditionally served on Thursday nights. In areas of South America which have a strong Italian influence, such as Argentina, they serve them on the 29th of the month. It is said that if this practice is followed, one is assured of having enough cash for the rest of the month. I have nothing to add in the way of personal experience in that regard! However, in our home, Gnocchi was not reserved for holidays or special times. It was a regular Tuesday night kind of dish. My mother would make them quickly and with little fuss – many times with a simple sauce of fresh tomatoes and basil.

The word Gnocchi means lump or knot or sometimes referred to as “little pillows”. It is one of the most mispronounced Italian words I think I have ever encountered. In Italian, the letters gn appearing together is pronounced as if they were ny with the y treated as a consonant. Thus, the pronunciation “ny-okey”.

The style and appearance of Gnocchi differs in Italian kitchens depending upon region and preference. Some are ridged like little shells. Others look somewhat like Cavatelli pasta with a slight roll to them causing a pocket which always holds just a tiny bit of extra saucy goodness. Some cooks leave them as the simple pillow shape that is created when they are cut and prefer not to include the last step of rolling or ridging them. In our home, my mother, Loretta, did not ridge them. She simply and quickly rolled them with seemingly lightening speed in flour with her 2 fingers, creating the famous “pocket” which collect the sauce. Pow, pow, pow – they would fly as if on a cushion of air and always “knew” to land in the growing hill of Gnocchi rapidly mounting on the other side of the small table. Personally, I have adopted the ridged look for the Gnocchi I make in my kitchen. I think the ridges add just a little extra interest and texture when eating them.

When prepared well, Gnocchi are light and rich – to the point of being almost addictive. You should be able to bite through them softly not like a piece of cheese that needs extra chewing – and not like hockey pucks from the addition of too much flour. Loretta used to instruct that the Gnocchi should not hit the stomach like “lead bombs” while at the same time, should not be mushy and pasty like mashed potatoes. Little bits of heaven, Gnocchi should approach the tongue as soft, light puffs that seem to marry with any sauce to which you introduce them. In Firenze, they were called “strozzapreti” or priest stranglers – maybe because they could not stop eating them or ate them to quickly. Are they that good? Yes indeed they are! Let’s get to it!

GNOCCHI

5 Medium-Large Potatoes – skins on

Boil in salted water about 30 minutes til tender (longer if potatoes are larger)

Remove potatoes from water and peel the skins off while hot. Using a fork helps. Also, I sometimes like to use surgical gloves to keep from burning my hands. (OUCH! This is why I often refer to Gnocchi Making as the “Agony and the Ecstasy” – just a little pain to achieve a magnificent result.)

Put hot peeled potatoes through a ricer and set aside.

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 egg yolks

Mix flour and salt together.

Mix 1/2 of flour/salt mixture with riced potatoes.

Mix slightly and add rest of flour and mix together.

Then add egg yolks.

Knead just until you have a smooth dough. Add flour if needed in scant tablespoons. Do not over work your dough, as this will toughen it and make your Gnocchi heavier. Do all of this while potatoes are hot so that dough will still be warm when finished.

Divide your dough into quarters.

Roll each quarter into a rope and cut in 1 inch pieces.

Some like to call it “a day “ at this point and accept the Gnocchi as pillow shaped. I much prefer the extra step of taking each little pillow and rolling it on the back of a floured fork. This makes the famous little ridges and the little “pocket”.

When finished, you can throw them immediately into boiling water, waiting for them to surface, and then cooking for 2 more minutes. Drain – Add your sauce and serve.

OR

TO FREEZE: lay the Gnocchi in a single layer on a pan and freeze. When frozen, drop them into freezer bags for later use. Do not defrost to cook – just drop directly into boiling water from the freezer.

**NEXT WEEK ON MY ITALIAN DISH - my favorite sauce for Gnocchi based on an old Tuscan tradition.

**Also: Coming in November to RECIPE OF THE MONTH on LINDA’S ITALIAN TABLE – another great sauce recipe for GNOCCHI!

PARLA COME MANGI!

Food Photos by Tommy Hanks Photography

Follow Me on Pinterest
Filed Under: Gnocchi, Pasta, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,