A well executed meatless dish.
I rarely, let's emphasize it RARELY omit meat from my main course. This recipe had to be tweaked a bit, but turned out marvelous! The carrots give the sauce a nice texture and overall very light in taste.
For a first attempt, the result was delightful. The cooking/prep time however took about 2hrs 45min for the gnocchi, and an hour for the sauce. The gnocchi took a long time due to 2 factors: 1) amount of gnocchi to cook, and 2) the first few test batches in order to determine the proper cooking time. The first batch we made were undercooked (gummy tasting @ first float and 5min). 7 min was the perfect cook time.
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe.
Another factor to incorporate was the amount we made. Enough left over to probably serve 8 people and excess sauce you can freeze.
Instead of chopping the carrots, I continued to use a peeler to create carrot curls (easier to blend, faster cooking)
Hands work much better than a spatula.
The first of many... don't worry about the 'snakes' being the same length, they will be chopped into proper gnocchi sizes.
It doesn't look like a lot from this angle.
This angle is more massive.
Blended sauce.
Cooked!
Garnished with parm and black pepper.
For the Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, with liquid
- ½ cup olive oil
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 tsp oregano
- 1-2 tsp basil
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-4 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil for a minute over medium heat.
Add the onions and carrots, and sauté for a bit until the onions are translucent but not brown.
Add the tomatoes, garlic and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce is slightly reduced. Use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes while the sauce simmers. Stir in Parmesan cheese.
Remove from heat and pass through a food mill, or purée in a food processor until smooth, working in batches if necessary. I don't own a food processor so I used my magic bullet and worked in batches.
Season to taste. Makes about 1½ qts tomato sauce
For the Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 kg potatoes (white potatoes)
- 280g GF flour
- 90g grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 egg yolks
1. Fill a large pot with cold water, place potatoes(skin on) into the pot. Bring water to a boil for 35-40 min or until tender throughout.
2. Drain, then peel off skin using a paring knife. Use a paper towel to combat the heat of the potatoes.
3. Mash potatoes in a large bowl with a fork.
4. Let the potatoes cool by spreading them across a cutting board, just long enough so that the egg won't cook when incorporated into the dough.
5. Return mashed potatoes into the large bowl and incorporate the egg yolks, flour and parmesan cheese with a spatula then with your hands. Work the mixture quickly but gently, the dough sould be moist but not sticky.
6. Cut dough into 6-8 equal pieces, then gently roll each piece into a snake like log with roughly the thickness of your thumb.
7. Cut the gnocchi trying to keep the size consistent. so they'll cook evenly. (If you are feeling fancy, you can use the back of a fork to create the dimples)
8. Bring a pot of water to a boil then cook gnocchi in batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi. Approx 7 min per batch. 1 batch= approx 2 small handfuls. When they are cooked they should float to the top.
* If you are not going to eat them right away, fish them out of the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon and transfer them immediately into a bowl of ice and water. The cold water stops the cooking process. After 7-8 min drain them from the water, transfer them into a container and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together, refrigerate until needed; they will last 4-5 days.
Plate your gnocchi and top with sauce, garnish with Parmesan cheese and black pepper.
