Gnocchi al Ragù

One of the most classic Italian dishes, "gnocchi with ragù alla bolognese".  This simple, proper comfort food is perfect to be serve as a primis or as a main course during autumn and winter time. 

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Ingredients 
​To make the gnocchi dough:
Serves: 5 

• 1 kg of old potatoes
• 1 whole medium egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 350 grams of 00 flour
• 80g Parmesan cheese 

To make the ragù alla bolognese:
Serves: 10  - You can follow this recipe and make a  a big batch then freeze for later or save it in the fridge and make lasagna in the following days

• 500g of good quality beef mince 
• 400g of good quality pork mince 
• 150g of pancetta 
• 50g of celery 
• 50g of carrots 
• 100g of onions
• 400g of peeled plum tomatoes 
• 200g of red wine (we like to use Chianti) 
• 1,5L of vegetable stock 
• Salt 
• 5 bay leaves​
• Parmesan cheese ​for serving

Method

1. For the ragù start chopping the pancetta into cubes and thinly chop the onions, carrots and celery. 
2. Put a big pot on a medium high hit and add the pancetta with a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
3. The pancetta will start to release the fat and get a little bit brown. At this point we can start with the soffritto - add all the chopped onions, celery and carrots and let it cook (sweat) for around 10 minutes, stirring often. 
4. Add the pork mince and beef mince and give it a nice stir, letting it cook for around  10 minutes on a medium heat.
5. Add the wine and let it evaporate until you get that sweet smell - this will take around 5 minutes. 
6. Add the plum tomatoes along with the bay leaves and only half of the vegetable stock. 
7. Let the ragù mixture simmer on a very very low heat for around 2 hours, checking the ragù and giving it a nice stir every 40 minutes. 
8. After 2 hours the ragu' is reduce and all the liquids should have evaporated from the pan, at this point you can add the rest of your stock and let it simmer again for another 2 hours. 
9. Your ragù will be ready after this 4 hour period. The consistency of the ragù should be thick - there should be no liquid at all. If there is, put the heat on a high again and stir it constantly until the water has all evaporated. The ragù should have a very nice brown colour.
10. Let the ragu' rest and cool down in the pot. 
11. Lastly, you can adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper (it's important that you do this just at end or else your ragu' will be too salty). 
12. For the gnocchi start by washing well the potatoes before boiling them. Arrange the potatoes in a large pot and cover with plenty of cold water. Turn the heat up to high and from the moment the water starts boiling, count about 30-40 minutes, depending on their size. Poke the potatoes with a fork and check if the tines enter without difficulty then you can drain the potatoes.
13. There will be no need to peel the potatoes because the peel will remain inside the potato masher. While still hot, mash the potatoes inside a bowl with the flour.  Add the lightly beaten eggs together with a pinch of salt and the grated Parmesan cheese. Lightly knead the dough until all the ingredients are perfectly combined. 
14. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, dust the table with some extra flour or semolina and roll each piece into a long sausages, 2 cm thick. Then cut the sausage shape into all equal pieces, about 2 cm each.
15. At this point you can leave them like that or shape them by pressing lightly with your thumb, drag them onto the riga-gnocchi board to obtain the classic shape (see the photo) or if you don't have the one, you can use a fork and drag them on the tines.
16. Transfer the gnocchi on top of a large tray dusted with flour or semolina. Keep these in the fridge until the ragù is ready or until you are ready to eat.
17. Warm up about half of the ragù in a large pot and cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water. While the gnocchi are cooking add a few spoons of the starchy water from the gnocchi cooking water into the pan with the ragù.
18. At this point your gnocchi should be ready and floating on top of the water, transfer them straight into the pot with the ragù and gently stir well until the gnocchi are all coated in ragù.
19. Serve nice and warm with Parmesan and a drizzle of good quality EVO Oil. 

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