Gnocchi con Patate e Zucca con Ragu’ alla Bolognese-Homemade potato and butternut squash gnocchi
Gnocchi con Patate e Zucca con Ragu’ alla Bolognese-Homemade potato and butternut squash gnocchi with a delicious ragu’ alla Bolognese. Make the sauce in the morning and let it simmer. This is Italian comfort food in every bite. The gnocchi are freezer friendly!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- RAGU’ ALLA BOLOGNESE -MEAT SAUCE
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup of onion chopped you can use sweet onion or yellow onion
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 carrot diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ pound pancetta chopped (optional)
- 1½ pounds lean ground beef you could do a mixture of pork/beef or however you prefer
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 6- ounce can tomato paste
- 1 28- ounce can of crushed tomatoes I use San Marzano
- 6 fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped (optional)
- 2 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Gnocchi Ingredients:
- 1½ lbs potatoes 700 grams
- ⅔ cup butternut squash 300 grams (this is weight w/out the skin)
- 2 cups flour 250 grams, plus more to dust
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 egg yolk the addition of this yolk will help make dough firmer
- 1 tsp sea salt plus more to boil gnocchi
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Parmigiano-Reggiano grated (to serve)
Instructions
- RAGU’ ALLA BOLOGNESE-MEAT SAUCE
- In a medium size saucepan or a Dutch oven, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes more. If you are adding the pancetta, now is the time to add it and cook for 5 minutes, then add the beef and saute, stirring frequently.
- Break up any large lumps and cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens. Add the wine and the remaining ingredients and simmer.
- I simmer my ragu (Bolognese sauce/meat sauce) for about 2 hours. You could make this a day ahead.
- GNOCCHI
- Wash the potatoes and boil them until they are very soft (boil with peels on). Cut the butternut squash into chunks, take out the seeds, you can leave the skin on, and boil them (the squash cooks up faster, so we cooked them in a separate pot).
- As soon as they are soft to touch with a fork, it's time to mash the potato and butternut squash. You should use a ricer, if you have one. Or just mash it up with a potato masher. Let them cool a little before you begin to mash them.
- Once they are mashed, mix the mashed potatoes and squash with the egg, and salt in a large bowl.
- In small portions, add the flour. On a clean work space that is floured, begin to knead it until the texture is smooth. Keep adding flour in little bits if the dough is sticky.
- Place a large saucepan with salted water on high heat.
- Separate the dough into the portions (we did about 6 portions). Roll out each individual portion. Have a cookie sheet ready with parchment paper on it and a little flour. That is where you will put them when ready and flour will stop from sticking. Gnocchi are very sticky. You have to move swiftly and adeptly.
- With each rolled out portion, start to cut out the gnocchi. You make about a 1/2 inch thick rope, and cut each gnoccho out of the rope.
- When the cut-out pieces are ready, time to roll them off the back of your fork. You take each piece, dip one side in flour, the other side, roll off the fork.
- Place each gnocco on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet that is sprinkled with a little flour. Be sure to space them out and not place them on top of each other.
- Carefully add the gnocchi to the saucepan with boiling water. They should be ready in 5-6 minutes. Once they float to the surface of water, they are ready. You may get a premature floater.
- Take out the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and add immediately to a large serving bowl. Add the sauce on top of the gnocchi. Stir together to combine. Grate on some Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano.