Homemade Potato Gnocchi with Meatless Farm Ragu

Plant-based eating is such a hot topic at the moment, so we teamed up with The Meatless Farm to develop this extremely delicious Homemade Gnocchi with Meatless Farm Ragu. We enjoyed developing the recipe so much, and hope you enjoy making it at home!

Gnocchi Ingredients

For the Gnocchi

• 4 large potatoes, approx. 300g each

• Salt

• 200g flour, plus extra for dusting

• 2 egg yolks

To serve

• A knob of butter (or olive oil)

• Your Meatless Farm ragu

• Freshly chopped parsley

• Grated hard cheese of your choice

For the ragu

• 400g Meatless Farm mince

• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

• 400ml vegetable stock

• 50g butter (or olive oil)

• 20g olive oil

• 2 carrots, grated or minced

• 1 stick celery, chopped

• 1 onion, grated or minced

• 5 cloves of garlic, grated or minced

• 1 tbsp tomato puree

• 100g heavy cream (or cream alternative)

• 1 bay leaf

• Salt & pepper to taste

• A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Optional:

• 10ml Worcester sauce

• 50g tomato ketchup

Key equipment

• Large pot

• Non-stick frying pan

• Potato masher

• Bowl of ice water

• Vegetable peeler

• Chopping board & knife

• Frying pan

• Spatula or wooden spoon

Method

To make the Meatless Farm Ragu

1. Prepare all of your ingredients before you start. Be careful when chopping and using knives!

2. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and butter, and let it melt.

3. Add the onion and let it soften and brown.

4. Add the garlic and your Meatless Farm mince into the frying pan.

5. Gently break the mince down, and fry for about 8 to 10 minutes till golden brown.

6. Add your chopped celery and carrot and cook for a further 3 minutes.

7. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

8. Carefully dip a spoon into your ragu, and give it a taste. It’s very hot, so make sure to cool it down before you put it in your mouth! Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

9. If you want a bit more of a tangy tomato flavour add a bit more ketchup and Worcester sauce to taste.

To make the Gnocchi

1. Peel your potatoes carefully with a peeler.

2. Place your potatoes in a pot, and cover with water.

3. Bring water to boil over high heat and then turn down to medium and simmer the potatoes for 20 minutes or until you can easily pierce through the potato.

4. Drain, cool and mash with a fork or potato masher.

5. Form a well in the mashed potato. Sprinkle the flour in, then add the egg yolks, a pinch of salt, and mix the all of the ingredients together.

6. You should begin to form a ball of dough. Work it gently - do not over-knead the dough.

7. Once the dough is smooth, on a floured surface roll out the dough into a rope (cylinder).

8. Carefully cut the rope into half-inch (1.5cm) pieces.

9. Using the back of a fork, gently roll each dough ball on a table to make ridges.

10. Bring another pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully add the gnocchi and let them boil.

11. The gnocchi will float to the top when done - transfer the cooked gnocchi into an ice bath, then drain on to a tray lined with paper or a clean tea towel.

To serve

1. Melt butter in a non-stick frying pan over high heat.

2. Once the butter is melted, add your gnocchi and fry lightly, until they’re nice and golden brown.

3. Carefully plate the gnocchi. Spoon your delicious Meatless Farm ragu over the gnocchi.

4. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and grated Parmesan or another hard cheese of your choice.