Potato gnocchi with Italian sausage ragu

• servings 4

• Preparation time:

• Cooking time:

Ingredients

For the gnocchi:
Potatoes 300g (Matteo uses Syd's from Barossa Farmers Market)
Flour 75g to 100g (it depends on the potatoes)
1 egg, (local, super free range)
Ground nutmeg, to taste
Salt, to taste

For the ragu:
Italian sausage, peeled and crumbled (Matteo uses Barossa Heritage Pork sausages)
50g onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed (Matteo uses Springton Farm Produce Certified Organic Garlic)
100ml white wine (Matteo uses Matthews Trebbiano)
150ml Italian tomato passata
1 bay leaf
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste (Cornucopia Farming & Torzi Matthews both excellent local producers)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish:
40g La Dame aged goat’s cheese (From Barossa Valley Cheese Company)

Method

For the gnocchi:
Wash the potatoes, place them in a pot with cold water.
Bring to the boil and cook until tender; peel the potatoes while hot and mash them.
Mix in the other ingredients,move the dough on a bench and keep kneading.
Shape it as a rectangle, 2 cm thick; cut stripes 2 cm wide and gently roll them, dusting with extra flour to avoid to stick together.
Cut the gnocchi 1 cm thick, dust with more flour and gently toss them using a spatula (not your hands, they will give a funny shape or even spoil the gnocchi). Let them rest in the fridge.

For the ragu:
Prepare the ragu': heat a frying pan on high heat; add the sausage and let roast. Remove from the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium, add oil, the onion , bay leave and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
When soft, add the sausage, stir for a minute and add the wine.
Let the alcohol evaporate and add the passata; cook for 5 minutes, to blend the flavours.
Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the gnocchi in plenty of salted boiling water; strain them and toss them with the sauce and a few extra virgin olive oil.
Finish with some freshly grated La Dame or Parmigiano Reggiano
Serve immediately

Notes

You can also blanch the gnocchi in salted boiling water; when they rise, strain them and cool them down in iced water. Drizzle some oil and refrigerate. This way they can last 2 to 3 days.
When you start making gnocchi (cutting), always cook a few to check if they can hold. If they are to soft, then add more flour. Traditionally, gnocchi are mushy because the low flour and egg content.