Gnocchi (potato dumplings) with meat sauce

Recipe for Italian gnocchi with meat sauce

Preparation and cooking

• - Steam potatoes.
• - Meanwhile ...
  ... Cook your sauce.
  Prepare ham. Pass ham in a meat grinder. If you haven't a meat grinder at home, ask your butcher to make it. Put ham apart.
  Put olive oil in a pan together with onion and bay leaf.
  Let all fry slightly on very low heat, stirring frequently.
  Add beef meat and stir to flavor, about 2 minutes.
  Pour in wine, increase heat, and let it evaporate.
  Add puréed tomatoes and a ladle of hot water.
  Continue cooking, on medium heat, about 10 to 15 minutes.
  Just before turning off the stove, add ham and other aromatic herbs too.
  Stir and season to taste. Your sauce is ready!
• - Meanwhile ...
  ... prepare potato gnocchi. Follow your favorite recipe or my directions. Link below!
  Remember gnocchi have to be prepared just before cooking them.

Just before serving

• - Bring abundant salt water to a boil. Cook gnocchi and remove them with a skimmer ladle.
  Transfer them to the pan with the sauce, kept hot. Remember to stir with delicacy every time you add them.
  Serve at once, accompanied by a bowl with grated Parmesan.

Note

Tips

• - I use fresh aromatic herbs for a better taste in summer.
• - Now I want to tell you about another cooking technique, ideal to preserve the nutritional properties of my sauce ingredients that I use from time to time when I have to eat light!
  Here's the recipe!. Put minced meat, puréed tomatoes, onion and wine in a pan. Add 100ml (3 1/3 fluid ounces) water too and bring to a boil. Continue cooking, half-covered, on low heat, stirring now and then, about 20 minute. Turn off the stove, add olive oil, ham and aromatic herbs, Season to taste with salt and stir.
• - You can prepare this meat sauce in advance.

Menu planning

• - Gnocchi is a typical dish on Italian table. Once, people had the habit to eat gnocchi on Thursdays, at lunch. 4 servings refer to this case.
• - On the contrary if you serve gnocchi in a full menu, you can consider 8 servings if not more.
  Open your full menu with an Italian antipasto with cold meats and prepare a second course based on meat.

Useful links for this recipe

• - Here's my recipe for potato gnocchi without eggs.
• - Interested in Italian ragù? follow the link for Bolognese sauce.

Healthy eating

• - Gnocchi with meat sauce is a dish rich in calories and fat and so you have to consider it as one-plate meal if prepared for your family menu.

Loretta

What's the right wine ?

My husband and I pair Dolcetto d'Asti (red wine of Piedmont) to gnocchi with meat sauce.