Ricotta Gnocchi with Rich and Tasty Red Sauce
This red sauce is a steroid ingredient that we use to pump up wimpy dishes like gnocchi or in chicken gravy for a quick sauce chasseur. Most of our sauces are done this way, baked in a good French enameled cast-iron pot. We’re not too fussy about the type of tomatoes we use, just canned and whole; San Marzano will do. If you cannot obtain pig skin from your butcher, then a pig’s trotter, halved lengthwise, works, too. You could also add Smoked Baby Back Ribs (page 153) to the sauce before serving it with the gnocchi.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
SAUCE
GNOCCHI
Preparation
Step 1
To make the sauce, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place the pork skin fat side up on a plate, and season generously with salt and pepper. Lay the rosemary, anchovy, bay leaf, and chile across the skin. Sprinkle the garlic and fennel seeds over the top. Roll the skin up tightly and tie it around and around with butcher twine, like you would a cheap sleeping bag for a college trip to Camp Lake Crystal. Set aside.
Step 2
Open the cans of tomatoes and crush the tomatoes between your fingers over a large bowl.
Step 3
In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion. When it is translucent, after about 5 minutes, add the tomatoes. Nestle the sleeping bag in the tomatoes. Add a tablespoon of salt and the Parmesan rind.
Step 4
Cover the pot and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the skin pierces effortlessly with a fork.
Step 5
In the meantime, to make the gnocchi, whisk together the whole egg and egg yolk in a small bowl. On a vast and clean work surface dusted with flour, drop the ricotta and the flour and mix. Make a well in the ricotta mixture and add the eggs, Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg, a teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of pepper to the well. Mix in the sides of the well, first with the tips of your fingers, gathering together all the ingredients, and then with your hands. Cautiously and briefly knead to form a uniform dough. It should be firm but not hard.
Step 6
Press the dough into a rectangle 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick and cut into strips 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. Between flat, floured hands, roll each strip into a serpent. Each serpent should be about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick. Cut each serpent into pieces 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and carefully transfer to a floured tray. Refrigerate the gnocchi for 15 minutes so they will firm up and keep their shape.
Step 7
Meanwhile, in a large pot over high heat, salt 6 quarts (6 liters) of the water and bring to a boil. Prepare an ice bath with the remaining 2 quarts (2 liters) water and the ice.
Step 8
Working in batches of 12 gnocchi, gently slide the gnocchi into the boiling water with the help of a spatula. Once they float to the surface, they will need 2 to 3 minutes to cook through. Test one to see if it is ready. With a wire skimmer, transfer the gnocchi to the ice bath and leave for 1 minute. Then transfer them to a tray and oil them lightly.
Step 9
Returning to the sauce, remove the rolled skin and the cheese rind from the oven. Discard the rind. You can snip the twine, unroll the skin, toss away the seasonings, and then dice the skin and serve it with the gnocchi. That’s what we do, but we agree that it doesn’t look appetizing.
Step 10
Strain the sauce and keep it warm. (If you don’t want to use it right away, it will keep for up to 7 days in the refrigerator and even longer in the freezer. You’ll notice it becomes slightly gelatinous when you refrigerate it because the skin was cooked in it.)
Step 11
To serve, add 2 tablespoons oil to a sauté pan set over medium-low heat. Add the gnocchi and cook for a minute or two, then carefully flip and cook for another minute or so, until warmed through. Top the gnocchi with the sauce and serve with a few thin slices of parmesan.
