Gluten Free Gnocchi with Bolognese
This Recipe comes from Jeff Taibe of Taproot (www.taprootct.com) and is excerpted from Connecticut Chefs Recipes for Restaurant Relief e-Cookbook, edited by Stephanie Webster, photos by CTbites.
Ingredients
For the Gnocchi
- 2 lbs potatoes (Kennebec or Idaho)
- 1 1/2 cups Cup4Cup gluten-free flour
- 1 egg, beaten lightly
- 1 tspn salt
For the Bolognese
- 2 lbs ground meat (lamb, beef, pork)
- 1 medium white onion, minced small as possible
- 1 carrot, minced small as possible
- 2 stalks celery, minced small as possible
- 1/4 head fennel, minced small as possible
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tspn red pepper flakes
- 1 tspn fennel seeds, toasted and ground
- 1/8 tspn fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 2 cups white wine
- 1 quart tomatoes (if whole, crush by hand)
- 2 cups brown stock (preferably similar to the meats you are working with)
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 bunch of thyme
- 1/4 bunch rosemary
- 1/4 bunch basil
- 2 fresh bay leaf
- Parmesan rind
Instructions
To make the gnocchi:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Fork the skins of the potatoes all around, put on a sheet pan, and bake until a paring knife can be easily inserted.
- Allow to cool slightly, peel the skins off the potatoes and discard.
- With the back of a fork, crush potatoes until there aren’t any large chunks.
- Lightly flour the surface of a wooden board with the gluten-free flour.
- Place the mashed potatoes on the board and add the flour and salt.
- Make a well in the potato mixture and add the egg.
- Work the dough with a fork just until it all comes together in a ball (don’t overwork).
- Allow to rest 15 minutes.
- Cut the dough into four equal pieces.
- Working one piece at a time, roll on the table to make ropes about ½” diameter even throughout.
- Do the same for the other 3 pieces.
- Line up the “ropes” and with a knife or bench scraper, cut the ropes into ½ pieces.
- Sprinkle lightly with flour and reserve.
To make the bolognese:
- Place a wide pot on stove over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to coat.
- When smoking, add ground meat, cook until brown(hint: I use a whisk to break up the clumps).
- When browned, add a pinch of salt, then add your vegetable one at a time.
- Cook for about 5-10 minutes until vegetables start to soften.
- Add the spices, cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste until it gets slightly oily and blend gently until all of the meat is covered.
- Add wine, reduce by half, then add tomatoes,cook until it comes to a boil.
- Add, stock, bring to a boil.
- Add milk.
- Tie your herbs in a bundle with butcher’s twine and place in pot.
- Bring to a simmer over a very low flame for 3-4 hours, stirring frequently so the sauce doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of pot.
- Boil the gnocchi until floating at the top.
- When floating, put into sauce, cook for another 3-5 min so the gnocchi absorbs the sauce.
- Season again.
- Plate and garnish with parmesan, parsley, olive oil, or ricotta (all optional)
Notes
Excerpted from Connecticut Chefs Recipes for Restaurant Relief e-Cookbook, edited by Stephanie Webster, photos by CTbites.