Preparation for Gnocchi with Radicchio and Sausage

• Tips for preparing gnocchi:  According to the classic recipe, the potatoes must necessarily be white-fleshed, old, without sprouts, and should not be peeled to prevent them from absorbing water during cooking. If you want to get soft gnocchi, work the dough quickly before it cools and becomes sticky. The more you work the dough, the more flour it absorbs and becomes heavy.
  The flour quantities may vary depending on humidity; sometimes they absorb more, sometimes less.
  Adjust by eye until the dough is dry and homogeneous, they should be soft and slightly sticky, just dust a little flour.

• Boil the potatoes with the skin in a basket so they have minimal contact with water. If using a pressure cooker, it facilitates cooking and absorbs less water.
  With a pressure cooker, calculate 15-18 minutes of cooking after the whistle, with a regular pot at least 30 minutes.
  Drain and peel the potatoes while still warm, pass them through a potato masher and place them in a bowl or on a work surface, whichever is more convenient for you. Let them cool a bit before working them.

• Knead the potatoes with the flour as needed and salt, quickly working everything, adding more flour gradually until you get a soft dough of the right consistency. Be careful not to work the dough too much to avoid it becoming sticky and absorbing too much flour.
  Make ropes and then cut into pieces of about 3/4 inch if you prefer the ridged effect, pass them on the wooden tool or the tines of a fork. In my haste, I left them simple.
  Place the gnocchi on a tray dusted with flour to prevent them from sticking to each other while waiting to be cooked.

  Preparation of the sauce:
  Wash the radicchio and then cut it into thin strips, remove the skin from the sausage and crumble it.
  Take a pan, pour some oil and sauté the chopped onion for 2 minutes, add the crumbled sausage and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, and also pour in the radicchio. Increase the heat and cook everything for a few minutes, pour in the sweet red wine, let it evaporate, then salt and add 3 tablespoons of water and stew slowly for 5 minutes.

  

• In the meantime, bring water to a boil, salt it, and cook the gnocchi in two batches, don’t crowd them all in the pot. As they float to the surface, scoop them with a slotted spoon and add them to the pan with the sauce, add the second batch of gnocchi, it only takes a few minutes, and a few tablespoons of cooking water, stir and mix all the ingredients well.
  Melt everything with a pat of butter and grated Grana cheese, also add some chopped basil or parsley, plate and serve piping hot.

• For other gnocchi recipes click here.
  

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