I started this new thing where I roam around the magazine aisles looking for inspiration. Whatever cover catches my eye, I’ll pick it up flip through it really quickly and decide whether or not to bring it home. A couple months ago, Saveur and Lucky Peach both had issues with a gnocchi emphasis. I was curious, and Saveur had a more enticing cover so I bought it!

Two recipes caught my eye: the farro gnocchi with pork ragu and the ricotta and egg gnocchi with olives, capers, and tomato sauce. The only problem is I liked the pork ragu, but wasn’t interested in the farro gnocchi…and I liked the ricotta egg gnocchi, but definitely wasn’t interested in the olive, caper, and tomato sauce. What to do?! I made the ricotta gnocchi and the sauce. Done.

It was one of those Sundays where I had not cooked in a while and I wanted to make SOMETHING, and I didn’t care if it became a huge production. It was also a weekend where my boyfriend and I were expecting our friend to join us. He doesn’t eat pork so we made a beef variety!

**BTW props to the boo thang for plating the dish!

Anyway here are the recipes:

Pork Ragu Recipe

Ricotta Egg Gnocchi Recipe

Learn from my mistakes…here are some notes and tips:

The Ragu

• I couldn’t find fennel pollen so I omitted it. It still came out amazing so if you used fennel pollen please tell me how it contributed to the flavor!
• For the beef variety, I omitted the bacon and browned the meat as is. I may have added an onion….if I didn’t..maybe try crisping up some onion instead?!
• NO ALCOHOL? No Problem! Our friend also does not drink/consume alcohol so we omitted that also and added chicken stock instead. The consistency was different, but the flavor is still amazing!
• I used significantly less cheese in the sauce than what is called for because with the butter, meat fat, and oil…the sauce was rich enough for me

The Gnocchi

• I didn’t use Yukon Gold potatoes, I used gold potatoes (I don’t know if there is a difference) from Costco. They sell a HUGE bag so…why not.
• I didn’t have a potato ricer, so I used a cheese grater! I grated the boiled and skinned potatoes, and it worked perfectly.
• DON’T FORGET THE EGGS!! I made a huge mistake and thought I was done and started making gnocchi…only to realize something was off….I forgot the eggs. So I started over. -_- lame.
• Gnocchi is awesome! When you boil them, they float when they’re ready.
• FREEZE THEM! I made a ton, so I froze them and they have come in handy when I’m too tired to create something completely from scratch.
  • You can boil them then pan sear them (they get nice and golden brown) and mix in a sauce… I’ve done it a couple times I’ll share photos later!

I suggest cooking the gnocchi in the sauce so the gnocchi pick up the flavor….YUM!

ENJOY!!!