Baked Ricotta Gnocchi with Meat Sauce

If you haven’t dabbled in the gnocchi world you are missing out. I’ve become a veritable gnocchi fiend, making ricotta gnocchi left and right. Ricotta gnocchi is the superior gnocchi and I won’t have any sort of discussion saying otherwise.

Potato gnocchi is heavy and tends to be gummy when prepared incorrectly, meanwhile ricotta gnocchi is just a light fluffy cheesy bite of heaven.

 

Baked gnocchi is a special treat, you take your gnocchi then cover it with a delicious tomato sauce and then you top it with cheese. THEN you bake it in the oven for the cheese to melt and you are left with this heavenly mound of cheese and sauce. Words don’t do it justice.

The annoying part of this recipe is making the sauce, I recommend either using a good storebought sauce or just using frozen sauce. I always have frozen sauce on hand, I always pour some in silicone ice trays so I have little bunches of sauce always at the ready. I suggest you do the same.

 

Recipe – Baked Ricotta Gnocchi with Meat Sauce

Ingredients

Gnocchi:

16 oz. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

2 Slices of Good Quality White Sandwich Bread (1/2 Cup)

1 Large Egg

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Minced Basil

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

6 Tablespoons of Flour

1 /2 Cup Grated Parmesan

Meat Sauce:

I always freeze sauce into cubes to have on hand, but if you don’t use this recipe:

1 quart homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1 24 oz. Jar of Tomato Puree (Or you can use Whole Peeled Canned Tomatoes)
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 pound ground beef chuck 80/20
1 pound of ground pork
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Cups of Finely Chopped Onion
1 Cup of Diced Carrots
1 Cup of Diced Celery
2 Tbsp. of Crushed Garlic
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
2 cups White Wine
2 bay leaves
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 to 2 tablespoons Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce

Method

*Prepare Sauce First*

Step 1-  heat your olive oil in a large pot as it begins to shimmer add your chopped onions and garlic. Once they’ve browned, add your celery and carrots.

Step 2- Add your ground beef and pork to the pot, then add your salt, pepper, and parsley leaves, brown the meat well on each side.

Step 3- Once you’ve browned it well on each side add your fish sauce to the meat and stir for a few minutes. Now add your white wine to deglaze the pot, stir and allow it to reduce.

Step 4- Once it’s reduce add your tomato ingredients, stirring making sure that the sauce doesn’t burn. Now add your chicken stock to the dish, and allow the dish to simmer for 1 to 2 hours.

Step 5- Once the sauce has simmered, add your heavy cream and cheese to the sauce, make sure the heat is not too high. Stir gently for another 15 minutes and then serve over fresh gnocchi.

Gnocchi:

Step 1 – Strain the ricotta, if you buy good quality Italian ricotta you might not have any liquid. The cheese from Fierro’s doesn’t. If it does, strain it in a fine mesh strainer.

Step 2- Transfer to a bowl.

Step 3- Pulse bread in a food processor, then spread crumbs on a baking sheet, bake until golden brown.

Step 4 – Mix ricotta and breadcrumbs together in a food processor until you have a fine mixture.

Step 5 – Transfer to a bowl, then add your eggs, basil, and Parmesan to the ricotta pile.

Step 6- Mix together until it’s consistent, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. The dough needs be moist but not so moist that it essentially falls apart in your hands.

Step 7 – On a floured surface, portion out the dough into lemon sized pieces.

Step 8 – Roll them out 3/4 inch thick ropes and cut them into 3/4 inch lengths.

Step 9 – Transfer all the pieces to a piece of parchment paper.

Step 10- Prepare your gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to boil. Once it boils reduce the heat so it simmers. Now gently place the gnocchi into the water. The gnocchi is cooked once it floats, about 2 minutes.

Step 11- Once the gnocchi’s are cooked scoop them out with a slotted spoon and serve with your sauce. Enjoy!!