Gnudi with Veal Ragu

By Mom_s

Gnudi (pronounced "nu-dee") is a type of gnocchi made from ricotta cheese and a little bit of flour. The result is a dumpling that some describe as "nude" ravioli, or filling without the pasta. It is fantastic!

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• Gnudi
• Serves 6 to 8
• 1 pound ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup flour, plus more for dusting the dough and the working surface
• Veal Ragù
• Serves 6
• Ingredients:
• 3 pounds bone-in veal shoulder chops
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 fennel bulb, finely choped
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup oven-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, for garnishing
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• White truffle olive oil (optional)

Details

Adapted from cynthiapresser.com

Preparation

Step 1

Directions:

Season the veal with salt and pepper and dust with flour, tapping off the excess. In a large casserole, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Add the veal and cook over high heat until browned all over, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the veal to a plate.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil to the casserole. Stir in the onion, garlic, and fennel and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the wine and boil until reduced to 1/3 cup, 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook over moderately high heat for 2 minutes. Add the broth and rosemary and bring to a boil. Add the veal, cover partially and cook over low heat until very tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Remove the meat and shred it. Discard the bones. Stir the meat back in the sauce.

Divide the ragù into 6 bowls or plates. Add the gnudi and sprinkle with chives and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve it immediately with a drizzle of white truffle olive oil for extra flavor.
Notes:

Veal ragù is very commonly served with Pappardelle pasta, but it goes extremely well with gnudi too

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, egg, butter and nutmeg. Fold in the 1 cup flour.

Shape the dough into a ball; sprinkling with more flour if necessary (it might be easier to shape it into a ball if you keep lightly sprinkling it with flour.) Divide the ball into 6 smaller balls. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each one of the dough balls out to a rope and cut into 6 pieces. Gently roll the pieces into balls and transfer to a floured baking sheet. The gnudi balls should be about the size of a ping pong ball.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, boil the gnudi until tender, about 7 or 8 minutes; drain. Place 3 to 4 gnudi into a bowl or plate. Add the sauce of your choice to the gnudi, or add it to the delicious Veal Ragù (recipe below.)

Notes:
It feels kind of funny to shape gnudi, because the dough is really loose. Do not feel intimidated by it. The balls are not supposed to look perfect and what really matters is that they taste very soft, and creamy.