In The Kitchen with Alissa Bigelow

Potato Gnocchi With Sauce Bolognese and Boston Bibb Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients for the Bolognese Sauce

4 oz Pancetta diced 1/4 thick
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausages, removed from casing
1 medium onion diced 1/4 inch
1/2 bunch celery diced 1/4 inch
1 large carrot diced 1/4 inch
3 each bay leaves
6 each black peppercorns
6 each whole allspice
1 each cinnamon stick
1/2 cup white wine
4 oz tomato paste
Water to cover
8 oz heavy cream
1 oz whole butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or equivalent
1 bunch Italian parsley chopped
1 each whole nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation For The Bolognese Sauce

In a large sauce pot, sweet pancetta with olive oil until cooked about half way.

Add onions, celery & carrots and sweet down until onion start to become translucent.
About 10 minutes.

Add beef, pork and Italian sausage and cook until lightly browned. Place bay leave, peppercorns, allspice & cinnamon stick in cheese cloth and tie off the top to form a sachet (bag).

Add the sachet.

De glaze pan with white wine and add tomato paste add just enough water to cover. Turn down the flame to medium and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Remove any unwanted fat on the top by skimming with a ladle or spoon.

Just before serving add heavy cream, butter Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.

Ingredients for Gnocchi

2 lbs Baking Potatoes
1 cup all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 xlg egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

Roast the potatoes in a 400 degrees oven for 45 to 50 minutes until just done. (do not overcook the potatoes) Remove potatoes from the oven and let them cool just long enough that you can handle them without burning your hands. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh. Pass the potato through a ricer into a large bowl. Add the flour, salt and egg and knead into a sticky dough. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll the balls into ropes about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the ropes into 1/2 pieces and score them by running them along the tines of a fork.

Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water until they float to the top of the water (approx 1 min.) continue to cook for 1 min. Test the gnocchi they should be cooked through but still light. The gnocchi can be chilled by dropping them into an ice bath for later use or sauced immediately.


Ingredients for Blood Orange Vinaigrette

2 cups Blood Orange juice (reduced to 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Whisk all ingredients except oil together. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream while constantly whisking. This will create an emulsion.

Ingredients for the Salad

1 head of Boston Bibb lettuce, cleaned and removed from stock
2 oz shaved red onion
2 oz shaved fennel
2 oz goat cheese
1 blood orange, cut into segments
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Preparation

In a small mixing bowl, place lettuce leave, red onion, fennel and drizzle with vinaigrette.
On a plate place a 4 inch ring mold in the center. Place a 2 leaves in the mold, sprinkle some red onion, fennel, a few crumbles of goat cheese, a few segment of orange and some pine nuts on top of the lettuce. Repeat this until you have 3 to 4 layers. Slowly remove the ring mold so that your layers remain stacked like a tower. Drizzle some vinaigrette around the plate and garnish with some orange segments and pine nuts.