Serves8 (first course)
- Active time:1 1/2 hr
- Start to finish:2 hr
March 2003
Our gnocchetti are lighter than most because they don’t contain egg; the richness comes from the tomato guanciale sauce.
For sauce
-
1
tablespoon
olive oil
-
5
oz
guanciale or pancetta, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
-
1
large red onion, finely chopped (1 1/4 cups)
-
1
small garlic clove, minced
-
1
(28- to 32-oz) can plum tomatoes, drained (reserving juice) and finely chopped
-
1/2
cup
water
-
1
teaspoon
sugar
-
1/2
teaspoon
salt
For gnocchetti
-
1 1/2
lb
yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
-
1 1/2
cups
all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
-
1 1/4
teaspoons
salt
Make sauce:
-
Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté guanciale and onion, stirring, until onion is golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with reserved juice, water, sugar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
Make gnocchetti:
-
Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 2 inches in a large pot, then simmer, uncovered, until very tender, about 25 minutes. Drain in a colander and, when cool enough to handle, peel.
-
Force warm potatoes through ricer into a large bowl. Add flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture begins to come together. Gently form dough into a ball and cut in half.
-
Knead each dough half on a floured surface until smooth, about 1 minute (if dough sticks to surface, dust lightly with additional flour). Cut each half evenly into 10 pieces. Roll 1 piece into a 14-inch-long rope (1/2 inch thick), keeping remaining pieces covered with a kitchen towel. Cut rope crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces and toss pieces lightly with flour on work surface.
-
Press a piece of dough against tines of a floured fork and push with a floured thumb in a forward rolling motion toward end of tines, letting gnocchetti fall from fork into a well-floured shallow baking pan. Make more gnocchetti in same manner.
-
Just before cooking, gently shake gnocchetti in 4 batches in a large medium-mesh sieve to knock off excess flour. Cook gnocchetti in 4 batches in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water until they float, about 1 minute. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large shallow bowl as cooked and spoon some sauce on top.
Cooks’ notes: - Sauce can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat before proceeding.
- Gnocchetti can be formed (but not cooked) 1 week ahead and frozen in floured baking pan, covered, until hard, about 3 hours, then put in a sealed plastic bag. Do not thaw before cooking. Boil frozen gnocchetti about 2 minutes.
