Gnocchi with tomato and meatballs recipe
Last Updated on
Total: 1 h 30 min Diners: 4
If you live in Spain, it’s possible that gnocchi is the dish of Italian origin that least amuses you. Therefore, what will shock us most when we make homemade gnocchi is the wonderful difference in texture between them and those bought in any supermarket bag.
The gnocchi – or gnocchi, in Italian – should be fluffy and tender, almost like little clouds, hardly having a texture to bite but melt in the mouth only by crushing them with the tongue on the palate.
And so are these, like the ones they serve at Picsa (Madrid) every 29th of the month paying homage to that tradition coming from the Southern Cone countries of eating gnocchi that day; occasion on which they make an exception to prepare something other than their delicious starters and their hearty and fantastic pizzas of thick dough but very well worked, with top quality ingredients.
These gnocchi with tomato and meatballs clearly seek to pay homage to their own, with a homemade tomato sauce that is also undoubtedly key as are those meatballs of good meat fried just right to be juicy but well cooked. The recipe is composed of several elaborations but perfectly reflects what is 100% home cooking, with wonderful results that are certainly worth it.
Tomato nutritional properties
According to the Spanish Nutrition Foundation: “Tomato is mainly composed of water and its main macronutrient is carbohydrates.
Among the vitamins, it is worth mentioning the vitamin A content, basically in the form of carotenoids provitamin A and vitamin C. One serving of tomato covers 61% of the recommended intakes of vitamin C for the study population.
The non-pro-vitamin A carotenoids include lycopenes, the amount of which depends on the variety grown (much higher in the «pear type»), the degree of ripeness (higher in ripe ones) and the mode of cultivation and form of ripening (higher in those grown outdoors and ripened on the plant).
The crushed or cooked tomato and its combination with oil, improves the absorption of lycopene in our organism.”
Tomato consumption in Spain
According to data from the Spanish Federation of Associations of Exporting Producers of Fruits, Vegetable Recipes, Flowers and Live Plants (FEPEX), tomato is the most consumed vegetable in Spanish households, with 605 million kilos, followed by onion with 325 million kilos and peppers with 225 million kilos.
How to make homemade gnocchi with tomato
gnocchi post
How to make gnocchi with tomato
Gnocchi post
Ingredients
For the potato gnocchi
For the potato gnocchi
./h4> Potatoes, 1 kg Egg, 1 u Flour, 280 g (approx) Salt, two pinches Grated edam cheese, 100 g
For the tomato sauce
Pear tomatoes, 1 kg Red onion, 2 u Garlic cloves, 1 u Olive oil, 3 tbsp Salt, c/s Sugar, 1 tsp Basil, 2 sprigs
For the meatballs
Minced veal, 400 g Minced Iberian pork belly, 100g Garlic clove, 1/2 Salt, c/s Black pepper, a pinch freshly ground Mild olive oil, 400 ml Sliced bread, 1 slice Flour, 200 g
Step 1
The most time-consuming part is the tomato sauce, which will require a simmering chup chup that concentrates all the flavors. To do this, in a wide pot, we will poach the onion cut into small squares with the finely chopped garlic clove, olive oil and salt, over low heat so that everything is cooked but without browning too much.
Step 2
While the poaching is going on, we can peel the tomatoes – the trick is to make a cross at the base and scald them in boiling water until the skin peels off slightly – and chop them, removing the watery part of the seeds. We could also directly crush the tomatoes and use them, depending on the texture we want for our tomato sauce.
Step 3
Incorporate the chopped tomatoes into the sauce and cook uncovered over medium-low heat for at least 45 minutes, so that everything concentrates and the water evaporates. Stirring from time to time so that it does not stick. When it has reached the desired texture we will only have to add salt, black pepper, add the sugar to combat the acidity and add the chopped basil. Set aside.
Step 4
While the tomato sauce is being made, we can prepare the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients, shaping them into balls, dredging each one in flour and frying them over high heat so that they brown quickly on the outside but are not too brown on the inside. Set aside.
Step 5
For the gnocchi, cook the potatoes in their skins in boiling salted water for 30 minutes or until tender when pierced. Drain then and peel taking care not to burn yourself. Mash with a potato masher or a fork and add the egg, flour and salt. Mix everything well making a dough more or less manageable, help us with flour on the table, but be careful not to overdo it.
Step 6
Make dough curls, with the help of your hands, as if you were making plasticine snakes. And cut into units of the size of the gnocchi we want (I like them big) with the help of a knife.
Step 7
Incorporate the meatballs to the tomato sauce and give a final boil while in a pot with plenty of water and salt boil the gnocchi until they float. Remove them and mix them with the tomato sauce, adding some meatballs on top and can be finished with grated cheese and lightly gratin in the oven to melt it.
