gnocchi con spezzatino di manzo con castagne
gnocchi with beef stew
No, I didn’t make my own gnocchi this time round. I was short on time and needed to get pragmatic about the evening’s cooking. So Siansbury’s provided all the ingredients opposite, including Rana ‘Original’ pan-fry gnocchi, which are more than adequate for a great gnocchi base. Stews are all about getting meat which is fatty enough not to dry up during a slowish cooking spell in a pot. So make sure you get ‘stewing’ steak or chuck /round / blade/ topside / silverside or skirt cuts - ask your butcher, he’ll know best!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
prepare and chop the vegetables
chop the bacon
brown and seal the meat
add other ingredients
stew for 2.5 - 3 hrs
fry the gnocchi, plate
gnocchi with beef stew
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
approx 750g stewing steak
2 celery sticks
2 small carrots
2 medium onions
1 chicken stock cube
1 large garlic clove
2 rashers smoked bacon
300ml red wine (I used Chianti)
1 tblspn butter
a handful of bay leaves
200g cooked and peeled chestnuts
approx 1.5 tblspns cornflour
2 handfuls of frozen peas
rosemary, salt, black pepper to taste
PASTA
600g fresh pan-fry gnocchi
MANTECATURA (?)
none
METHOD
Dice the carrots, onions, garlic and celery finely. I like to cut onions for dishes like this in very thin whole rings - simply because I think they look nice and give a more interesting texture than if all the veg are finely diced! Then go ahead and cook this soffritto in EVO, like you would if you were starting a ragù - no colouring, just gently softening the vegetables, adding small amounts of water if things start to dry up too much.
After about 10 mins of cooking on a gentle heat, or when the vegetables have softened, set them aside. In a good non-stick saucepan, brown and seal the meat in a tiny amount of EVO, together with the bacon, which you've finely chopped. When the meat's changed colour all over, pour in the wine and let it simmer for a few minutes, then crumble in the stock cube, allow it to dissolve, then add the vegetables and put everything on a low heat.
Add the bay leaves and chopped chestnut. Most stewing steak will need a good 2.5 - 3 hrs' cooking time like this, and you need to make sure that everything doesn't dry up... so check and stir the pan regularly, adding more water and/or a small amount of red wine.
About half an hour before the end of the stew's cooking time, add the cornflour to turn the juices into a slightly thicker gravy. The best way to do this is to place the cornflour in a large cup or mixing bowl and add spoonfuls of meat juice to it; mix the flour and juices quickly into a paste, add more and more juice until you have about half a cup of floury gravy, then add this to the stew and gravy in the saucepan. Stir immediately and then drop the heat to a minimum to cook the flour... babysit it for 20 mins or so, making sure it doesn't dry out.
When you're 5 minutes away from the stew being ready, throw in a handful or two of frozen peas. In a separate non-stick frying pan, pan-fry the gnocchi following the packet instructions (I normally fry them in EVO and add a sprig of fresh rosemary). As soon as you start frying the gnocchi, take the stew off the heat and let it rest. Stir in a tablespoon of butter.
When you've gently browned and cooked the gnocchi, plate each portion with the stew spooned onto a layer of gnocchi.... NB the gnocchi are standing in for roast potatoes, so this is one of the few dishes you'll find in this book where we DON'T combine the sauce with the pasta!
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 825
Fat (g): 12.4
Sat Fat (g): 4.8
Carb (g): 101.6
Sug (g): 13.9
Fibre(g): 15.3
Prot (g): 57.9
Salt (g): 3.77
Nutritional information is provided as an indication only of approximate values for the recipe on this page. You should make your own calculations if you have specific dietry requirements or are required to follow a strict calorie-controlled diet.
