Directions
Gnocchi with pancetta, cream, and radicchio is an irresistible dish, one of those bombs of the home cuisine that leaves no way out on the palate, which is submerged in a pour of taste, flavor, cream, but also calories.
The recipe for making this gnocchi is straightforward, and you don’t even need exotic ingredients or suburban Masterchef skills. You need potatoes, flour, two eggs, and elbow grease.
For the sauce, sauté the pancetta, gently braise the radicchio in its fat and add a drop of cream to bind the sauce. It is always better to use shallots to make a light and quick soffritto instead of the onion, which is much more overbearing as a flavor.
If you want to make super hard (and spartan) gnocchi, do not put the eggs, but only flour and boiled potatoes. If you prefer soft and plump gnocchi, add a couple of eggs to the dough, and don’t overdo it with the flour.
Ingredients and doses for making gnocchi with pancetta, cream, and radicchio
10 servings
- 800 grams of potatoes
- 300 grams of flour
- 2 eggs
- 40 grams of butter
- 10 grams of salt
- 10 grams of pepper
- 400 grams of radicchio
- 200 grams of bacon
- 80 ml of cream
- 5 grams of nutmeg
- 50 grams of Parmigiano Reggiano
- 50 grams of pine nuts, optional
How to make gnocchi with pancetta, cream and radicchio
Let’s start with the preparation of the gnocchi. Wash the potatoes, boil them in salted water for 40 minutes, then turn off, peel, and mash the potatoes with a potato masher.
Place the mashed potato on a floured cutting board, make a mound, dug in the center, put the flour with 2 eggs and the melted butter, and knead with rhythm and vitality.
Add the flour as you knead to make the dough increasingly dry and firm. If you want to make soft gnocchi, do not add more flour than the one already indicated among the ingredients. If you’re going to make the super hard dumplings, 50 grams more is enough.
Take a piece of dough and roll it under your hands’ palms to make a dough roll.
Then cut it with a sharp knife to make gnocchi. Sprinkle with flour and then leave covered to rest for an hour.
In the meantime, we will prepare the cream, pancetta, and radicchio dressing. Cut the pancetta into strips and brown it in a pan for 10 minutes on a low flame. Then drain the bacon.
Chop the shallot and stew gently for 15 minutes, adding a drop of water if necessary.
Cut the radicchio into strips, toss in a pan, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the bacon again, pour the cream, stir, sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg and cook for another 5 minutes.
The cream must be fresh, not that blob of creepy carton packs. If you are a cheese lover, add 20 grams of Gorgonzola and a drop of milk, but do not use industrial cream.
Cook the gnocchi al dente, then drain them directly into the pan with the cream, pancetta, radicchio dressing, sauté everything, and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve, sprinkle with copious Parmigiano Reggiano and serve the gnocchi with cream, pancetta, and radicchio. As you have noticed, this recipe is immediate, almost banal in preparation, but on the other hand, the taste is terrific.
Which wine to pair with gnocchi with pancetta, cream, and radicchio?
The dish is very fatty and savory and has excellent aromas and a bitter touch given by the radicchio. Better to avoid tannic wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Sagrantino and focus on a lively and savory red like Lambrusco di Sorbara. Sparkling wines such as Prosecco, Champagne, or Franciacorta are ideal for enhancing this dish’s complex and fatty flavor.
If you want to combine a cocktail, Negroni is perfect.
