Gnocchi alla Napoletana

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Servings:

6 to 8

Quantity

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 each

Medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pound

Ground mild sweet Italian sausage

1 tablespoon

Garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons

Red wine (Merlot)

1 ½ bottles (36 ounces)

Carmelina ‘e…San Marzano® Italian Tomato Puree (Passata)

1 teaspoon

Fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 teaspoon

Kosher salt

1 pinch

Black pepper

2 each

Large basil leaves, roughly chopped

For the Gnocchi:

2 pounds

Russet potatoes, skin on

6 quarts

Cold, salted water (for cooking gnocchi)

14 ounces

“00” or All-Purpose Flour), divided

2 each

Egg yolks (large AA eggs)

3 ounces

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 teaspoon

Ground nutmeg

For the Pasta Sauce:

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until soft and translucent; about 5 minutes. Add in the sausage and garlic, and stir the ingredients to combine with a wooden spoon, making sure to break up the sausage into small crumbles. Continue to cook mixture for 5 to 7 minutes until moisture has evaporated. Deglaze pan with red wine, and stir in the Carmelina ‘e…San Marzano® Italian Tomato Puree (Passata). Season with thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Stir sauce to combine, and continue to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Stir in basil and check seasonings. Remove sauce from heat, and set aside.

For the Gnocchi:

In a 3-quart stock pot, place potatoes with skin on. Fill pot with cold water just to cover the potatoes. Cover pot with lid, and cook potatoes over medium-high heat until tender; about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pot from heat, drain and set potatoes aside to cool.

Fill a large 8-quart stock pot with cold, salted water for cooking pasta; about three-quarters full. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Peel the potatoes, and place them through a potato ricer. On a clean, flat surface, form a well shape using the riced potatoes and 9 ounces of flour. In the middle of the well add egg yolks, 1 ounce of Parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Carefully mix all the ingredients with your hands until everything is combined to form a dough; about 3 minutes. Dough should be soft, easily kneadable, and not sticky to the touch. Do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal sections, and then roll each section with your hands to form a long noodle; about 1-inch in diameter. Cut the dough into 1-inch long pieces using a knife, and then gently roll each piece with a fork to create characteristic indentations for gnocchi. Dust with flour as you go to prevent gnocchi from sticking to each other, and place them on a large sheet pan dusted with flour. Carefully drop gnocchi, a handful at a time, into the salted boiling water. Give a stir from the bottom of the pot to prevent gnocchi from sticking. The gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water once cooked through; this should take less than a minute. Remove cooked gnocchi from the pasta water with a slotted spoon and place in a serving bowl. To serve, toss the finished gnocchi with Pasta Sauce, and garnish with remaining Parmesan cheese and basil leaves. Mangia Bene!

Tip: Looking for a vegetarian option? Omit sausage from the sauce, or prepare using a veggie substitute like soy Italian sausage or chorizo.

* Recipe created by Chef Giacomo Pagano on behalf of Mangia, Inc.™