½cupfinely grated pecorino romanoplus more for serving
2eggs
1tspsalt
¾ -1 ½ cupsall purpose flourplus more for dusting
Semolina flourfor dusting
Instructions
Begin by making the bolognese. Add onion, carrots, and celery to a food processor and pulse to a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl. Add mushrooms and garlic to a food processor and blend to a fine paste as well. Add to the bowl with the other veggies. Set aside.
In a large pot, add olive oil and heat until hot. Add the sausage and ground beef and cook, without disturbing or moving the meat until it is brown on one side. Continue to cook, breaking up the meat until fully browned.
Add in the vegetable mixture and cook stirring occasionally, until all the liquid in the vegetables reduces out and the mixture becomes dry. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
Add in tomato paste, and cook for about 2 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Add in red pepper flakes and bay leaves.
Deglaze with red wine and cook for 1 minute. The wine won't really reduce here, more so just get absorbed by the tomato paste.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and broth. Add in parm rinds and thyme. Bring to a simmer, reduce to low and cover with a lid. Cook for at least 2 hours on low, or up to 4 hours. Uncover the pot halfway through the cooking. Right before serving, remove the bay leaves, thyme, and parm rinds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
While the sauce cooks, prepare the gnocchi. In a large bowl, add ricotta, eggs, pecorino, and salt. Mix until combined.
Add ¾ cup of flour to start and gently mix into the ricotta mixture. If needed, add 2-3 Tbsp more flour at a time until the mixture is sticky, but holds together when rolled gently between floured hands.*
Using floured hands, form the mixture into a ball and cut into 8 equal pieces.
On a floured surface, roll each piece into a 12 inch log. Cut logs into 1/2 inch pieces. **
Transfer gnocchi to a sheet tray dusted with semolina flour. Repeat with all the dough.
Transfer gnocchi to the fridge until you are ready to cook them off. ***
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heavily season with salt.
Drop gnocchi into boiling water (you can do this is batches if necessary), and cook until they float. Once floating, let simmer for about 1 minute more. Gently drain gnocchi. Drizzle with a touch of oil.
Serve gnocchi topped with bolognese, olive oil, and grated pecorino romano.
Video
Notes
*Ricotta varies in moisture content so add flour in increments until the mixture holds together when rolled in your hands. It will be sticky but still “rollable”**You can keep the gnocchi in this shape or you can add ridges with a fork or using a gnocchi board like I did in the video***Gnocchi can be frozen at this point, spread out on a sheet tray. Once frozen they can be transferred to a bag and kept frozen. They can be cooked in the same manner as above from frozen