Bread Gnocchi with Sausage – The Pasta Undertaking

This bread gnocchi with sausage is a severely good, hearty conventional dish from Umbria. Its wealthy and flavorful sauce pairs excellently with gnocchi and the recipe will be made in underneath an hour with do-it-yourself bread gnocchi or in underneath half-hour with store-bought potato gnocchi.

Historical past
Referred to as gnocchetti collescipolani or gnocchi alla collescipolana, this Umbrian bread gnocchi recipe truly comes from the small hilltop village of Collescipoli, simply outdoors town of Terni in South-Japanese Umbria.
Each Collescipoli and Terni are very historical settlements courting again to pre-Roman occasions and situated on a big plain on the confluence of the Serra and Nera rivers.
The delicacies on this a part of Italy may be very rustic and primarily based on what Italians name ‘la cucina povera’ (the peasant kitchen). Pulses and legumes are staples for the locals and the most well-liked meat is pork and pork merchandise, sport birds, poultry and lamb.
Additionally they have a whole lot of conventional dishes with black truffles, notably these from Norcia additional up the Nera River.
I first got here throughout this recipe in one in all my favorite cookbooks, La Cucina: The Reginal Cooking of Italy. This guide was revealed in English by the Italian Academy of Delicacies (L’Accademia Italiana della Cucina). It’s a treasure trove of conventional Italian recipes, not simply pasta in fact.

Recipe Variations
Like many different Italian recipes, there are totally different variations of gnocchetti collescipolani. Nevertheless, the variations are fairly small.
I’ve come throughout a couple of recipes for the sauce made with pancetta as an alternative of guanciale. Nevertheless, most Italian recipes have guanciale. There are additionally Italian variations with cannellini beans as an alternative of borlotti, with crimson wine and with peperoncino. Traditionalists and the individuals of Collescipoli would in all probability disagree with utilizing these components!
In Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, they make a dish referred to as ‘pisarei e fasò’ which has very comparable bread gnocchi served in a bean and lardo (cured pork again fats not lard) or pancetta sauce.
Truly, the sauce is sort of the identical as this recipe. Pisarei isn’t precisely like these Umbrian bread gnocchi as a result of they’re barely totally different in form. They appear extra like orecchiette. On my to make record!
Components

This bread gnocchi with sausage recipe can be made with store-bought or do-it-yourself potato gnocchi if most popular.
Bread Gnocchi:
- Bread: You need to use store-bought breadcrumbs or rapidly blitz dried stale bread within the meals processor for the bread within the gnocchi. The very best sort of bread to make use of is a thickly sliced nation or rustic bread.
- Italian ’00’ tender wheat flour: Is a finely milled wheat flour. If unavailable, all-purpose flour can be utilized in its place.
- Salt: Essential for seasoning and enhancing the gnocchi taste.
- Heat Water: Binds the breadcrumb and flour collectively, making a workable dough.
Sausage Sauce:
- Italian Pork Sausages (Salsiccia): These sausages have a definite wealthy taste. If unavailable, you may go for delicate pork sausages with the addition of some freshly chopped rosemary or crushed fennel seeds. At all times bear in mind to take away the casing and crumble the sausage meat.
- Guanciale: A conventional Italian cured meat from pork cheek. It may be substituted with pancetta or fatty bacon if unavailable.
- Onion, Celery, Carrots, & Garlic: These create the basic ‘soffritto’ base for the recipe.
- Tomato Passata: These are sieved tomatoes and are referred to as tomato purée within the US. They can be substituted for peeled and chopped recent tomatoes.
- Borlotti Beans (Cranberry Beans): You need to use both dried beans, canned beans or pre-cooked beans. If utilizing dried beans, they need to be soaked in a single day after which cooked in water for about 45-60 minutes till tender.

The best way to make breadcrumbs from stale bread
If the bread is stale and already dried you may merely pulse the bread into breadcrumbs utilizing a meals processor. If the bread remains to be a little bit moist comply with this technique:
Directions:
- Preheat Your Oven: Begin by setting your oven to 200°F (93°C). This temperature will gently dry out the bread with out toasting it.
- Preparation: In case your bread comes with a thick crust, you would possibly need to take away it for a uniform breadcrumb texture. Tear the bread into chunks, roughly the dimensions of enormous croutons.
- Lengthy & Mild Drying: Lay the bread items evenly on a baking sheet. Allow them to dry out within the oven for about 15-25 minutes. The aim is to dehydrate the bread, avoiding any browning. You’re aiming for a texture that’s completely dry and crumbly.
- Cooling Off: Make sure the bread items are cooled right down to room temperature earlier than continuing.
- Grinding and Then Prepared: Add the dried bread chunks right into a meals processor. Pulse till you get a constant breadcrumb texture.
The best way to make bread gnocchi
1) Combine the breadcrumbs, flour and a tsp of salt collectively in a bowl. Slowly add the nice and cozy water whereas utilizing your palms to work the components right into a dough.
Notice: It’s possible you’ll not want all of the water or you could want so as to add a bit extra. The dough needs to be tender and barely cheesy however not moist.

2) Flip the dough out onto a pastry board and knead a little bit. Not loads as in any other case your gnocchi might be too dense. Cowl the dough with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and let it relaxation for 30-60 minutes.

3) After letting the dough relaxation, make the gnocchi by rolling items of dough into ‘snakes’ about 1.5 cm (0.5ins) thick after which slicing the snakes into small 1-2 cm (0.5-0.75 ins) items.

4) Put the prepared gnocchi onto a tray or tea towel that’s been dusted with flour whilst you make the remaining and the sauce.
Tip: I discover semolina flour is the very best for dusting.

The best way to make gnocchi with sausage
1) In a Dutch oven or massive pot, sauté onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in olive oil over low warmth. Improve the warmth to medium-high, then add guanciale and sausage mince. Brown the guanciale and sausage mince this could take about 5-7 minutes.

2) After browning the meat, combine within the tomato passata and cook dinner for an extra quarter-hour.

3) Alter with salt, add beans, and let simmer for one more 10 minutes.

4) Simply earlier than you’re able to serve, boil the breadcrumb gnocchi in salted water. As they float to the floor, transfer them with a slotted spoon to the sauce.
Notice: Be certain to do a style take a look at earlier than including the gnocchi to the sausage sauce.

5) Combine completely and serve garnished with grated pecorino.

Storage and Leftovers
Storing Raw Bread Gnocchi: For those who’ve ready extra gnocchi than wanted, organize them in a single layer on a tray and freeze till strong. As soon as agency, switch them to a sealable bag and retailer them within the freezer. They’ll keep recent for as much as 3 months and will be cooked instantly from frozen.
Storing the Sausage Sauce: Hold any leftover sauce in a tightly sealed container. It is going to stay recent within the fridge for as much as 3-4 days. For longer storage, you may freeze it in a tightly sealed container for as much as 3 months.
Reheating the Dish: Once you’re able to benefit from the leftovers, slowly simmer the sauce on the stovetop. If the sauce has thickened an excessive amount of, you may skinny it out with a little bit of water whereas reheating. For the raw gnocchi, boil them in salted water till they float to the floor, then switch them into the sauce with a slotted spoon.
Leftovers Mixed: When you have gnocchi and the sausage sauce saved collectively, it’s finest to retailer them in an hermetic container within the fridge. For reheating, gently simmer on the stovetop till scorching all through, adjusting consistency if mandatory with a splash of water or broth.

FAQs
Actually, it’s loads much less work than potato gnocchi as there’s nothing to cook dinner beforehand. Simply combine breadcrumbs, flour, salt and heat water collectively in a bowl till you’ve a dough. Then flip it out onto a pastry board and knead a little bit then, roll and minimize.
Resting the dough permits the flour to totally hydrate and helps in enjoyable the gluten strands. This ensures the gnocchi stays tender when cooked and prevents it from turning into too dense or chewy.
To stop dense or robust gnocchi, it’s important to keep away from over-kneading the dough. Over-kneading trigger the gluten to tighten, resulting in a more durable texture. It’s additionally essential to measure components precisely and let the dough relaxation as instructed.
Stale bread is drier and crumbles extra simply, making it supreme for breadcrumbs. Contemporary bread incorporates extra moisture, which can lead to clumpy or uneven breadcrumbs. For those who solely have recent bread readily available, you may dry it out within the oven for the same impact.
Completely! The sausage sauce will be ready a day or two upfront. Actually, permitting the sauce to sit down for some time might help the flavors meld collectively even higher. Once you’re able to serve, merely reheat the sauce after which add the freshly boiled gnocchi.
Extra Recipes You Might Like
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Buon appetito!
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