If you are a creamy first courses lover, this GNOCCHI, SPECK, RADICCHIO AND DOLCELATTE is the recipe for you! Homemade potato gnocchi dipped in a "dolcelatte cheese" cream with the speck crunchiness and the cooked radicchio little bitterness.
Very popular in Italy, this insanely flavourful sauce is perfect paired with potato gnocchi but you can also go for another kind of pasta. Also, some people prefer to use Gorgonzola instead of Dolcelatte cheese but for my recipe I chose the last one as this is sweeter and lighter taste to pair with this type of bitter radicchio taste.
A very quick and simple pasta dish to make, though with a great taste, is definitely an amazing first course, Yum!!
For 2 people:
GNOCCHI
The secret to a good gnocchi is the quality of the potatoes. So, please choose the right potatoes for making gnocchi, like Red Royale, Kipfer or similar sweet potatoes that are dry but not watery.
250g Potatoes, unpeeled
100g 00 flour
PREPARATION
Boil whole potatoes until tender; drain. Peel when they still hot but not to much, enough to manage.
In your wooden pasta board, place the flour and make a well in the middle. Using a ricer puree masher, mash the potatoes and combine to the flour. Add all the flour to the potatoes and start to make a firm dough. Do not worry if is a bit soft as this is normal. Divide dough into small equal parts and start to roll each part on a generously floured surface. Roll into 2cm thick finger-shape. With a sharp knife, cut into 2cm pieces. When you finish, gently sprinkle more flour all over the gnocchi to avoid them sticking. Try to keep them separately between each other, also avoid to sticking together or to the board.
RADICCHIO, SPECK AND DOLCELATTE SAUCE
500g radicchio cut in strips
1 slice of speak 1cm think
1 chopped red onion
Extra virgin olive oil
100ml warm water
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Fresh chilly to taste
PREPARATION
Prepare a large pan with water and stir to boil, also keep this on a side.
In a medium frying pan and a low-medium heat, add around 4 tablespoon of olive oil and add the speck, cut into strips; when the speck strips start to get a bit crispy, remove and keep them aside in a bowl. We will use them later.
PS: speck isn't fat like pancetta or guanciale, so you cannot let it get to crispy or cook too much or it will be hard to heat.
In the same pan, add the onion and let it fry until it gets translucent; add more olive oil if you think the pan is too dry. Now, you can add the shredded radicchio, water and a pinch of sugar. This helps remove the radicchio bitter taste. Let it cook for a few minutes all together or until the radicchio changes its colour from pink to brown. Add the speak, mix well with the radicchio and salt to taste. Remove from the heat and add the dolcelatte flakes.
Return to your pan with the water, when it boils, add the salt and the gnocchi. When the gnocchi starts to float to the surface, around 1-2 min, remove quickly from the pan with a slotted spoon and pour into the pan with the speak, radicchio and dolcelatte. Place back the pan over a very low heat and add slowly some pasta water to cream the gnocchi with the sauce quickly by mixing with a spoon for about 30 seconds. Do not overcook the gnocchi and so not dry the sauce. Add more pasta water if you need more creaminess.
Remove from the heat and serve the gnocchi with fresh black pepper to taste and Parmesan cheese on the top can complete your culinery delight! I personally recommend this and love it!!
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