Gnocchi Di Patate ~ Potato Gnocchi

This recipe comes from our family cookbook, "La Dolce Vita Famiglia di Buffo". My cuz Cathy shared it with us. We really like gnocchi. This one is of course meatless...you know the veggie thing at my house!

Ragu (Sauce)

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 small onion

10 ounces fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled and seeded

2 ounces panchett or bacon

3 ounces butter

10 ounces beef tenderloin fillet, cut into cubes

1/4 cup dry white wine

salt and pepper freshly ground pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Gnocchi (Potato pasta)

2 pounds baking potatoes

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 egg

salt

For the sauce:

Cut the vegetables and bacon into small pieces. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and meat (oops...you get to I don't), browning the meat over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes more. Add wine and tomatoes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for 2 hours. Push the sauce through a sieve. Do not puree.

For the gnocchi:

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender. Drain and peel them. Put potatoes through a food mill held over a board or other work surface or mash potatoes well. (Lucky me I have a potato ricer.) Add the flour, gather the mixture into a mound and make a well in the center. Break the egg into the well, add salt and knead until the mixture forms a smooth, firm dough

Cut it into pieces and use the palm of your hand to roll each piece into a long sausage shape. Cut these into 2 1/4 inche cylinders, separting them. Roll each of the gnocchi over the concave part of a grater or the prongs of a fork pressing down lightly with your thumb, and drop them onto a floured board.

Cook the gnocchi a few at a time in boiling salted water, lifting them out with a slotted spoon as soon as they rise to the surface. Spoon the sauce over them, dot with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve at once. Serves 4 to 6....if I'm not there!