How to homemake Gnocchi. A particular Italian recipe for you.
For 2 people use 450g yellow potatoes, 150g flour, salt.
Cook potatoes and peel them when still hot, mash them and mix with flour, to get a sort of dough. From this, make a number of snake-shaped cylinders, to cut into little chops. Press every chop onto the edge of a fork, to shape it with characteristic little bumps.
Dust flour over the gnocchi to absorb humidity, so they don’t stick.
Slice thinly the courgettes and stir them in a pan with sunflower oil (not olive oil, that would cover their delicate flavour) for not longer than 5 min (they must be still a bit crunchy). Turn heat off and – only now – add salt, and leave it aside.
Mince carrots, tomatoes, celery and a little onion, put in a saucepan with extravirgin olive oil and a bit of butter and stir until carrots change colour, then add mince meat (beef or veal – the meat’s quantity shouldn’t be more than half as much as the veg) and leave on medium heat until all the meat is well done but still soft, and the sauce thickened (about half an hour), then turn heat off and leave it aside as well.
Cook gnocchi in a deep saucepan full of boiling salted (use 1 tablespoon) water (when they float on the water surface they’re done), drain out of the water and put them in the pan with the courgettes, mixing well.
Finally add the vegetable ragout, mix well and serve.
You may add black pepper or grated cheese on top. Enjoy!