Gnocchi With Sauce

Here are two great recipes for a simple and delicious meal: one is gnocchi that uses cornstarch (instead of wheat flour) and makes the dough lighter; the other is sauce to use with gnocchi.

Ingredients for Gnocchi:

• 1 kg of peeled potatoes
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pinch of grated nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 1 and ½ cup corn starch
• All-purpose flour to make the “strings” of gnocchi
• Butter for greasing the baking sheet or glass ovenproof dish

Ingredients for sauce:

• ½ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ kg of ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 kg of ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Parsley and scallion, chopped

Directions for Gnocchi:

1. Cook the potatoes in water with salt, until soft, but not too much..
2. Drain the potatoes and then mash them.
3. Let the potatoes cool a little bit, then add the egg and cornstarch. Mix everything with your hands until it forms a dough. Let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Add the butter, grated cheese and nutmeg. Mix everything together
5. Divide the dough into several pieces and, on a smooth surface dust with flour, roll each piece over the surface to form “strings” with about 1cm of diameter.
6. Cut each “string” into pieces of 2cm to form the gnocchi.
7. In a pot with water almost boiling and salt, place small portions of gnocchi to cook. When the gnocchi added to the pot reach the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a baking sheet or glass ovenproof dish greased with butter. Continue adding the gnocchi until finishing.

Directions for meat sauce:

1. Saute onion and garlic with vegetable oil or olive oil, until browned slightly, but don’t let the garlic burn.
2. Add the ground beef and saute over moderate heat until browned.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, parsley and scallion.
5. Cook over low heat until the meat is tender.

How to serve:

Spread the sauce over the gnocchi and sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Total Time / Yield:

• About 1 hour and 30 minutes / 3-4 servings