Funny thing. I suggested the boar ragu. My-oh-my, how things have changed!! Derek's parents were in town and we wanted to cook at least one decent meal during their stay (the rest of the cooking was left to the wonderful San Francisco restaurants). For some reason, a trip to the Ferry Building meat market to pick up some "exotic" meat sounded like a fun experience for all - and boar was the first meat that came to mind. Along with it, I was thinking a great ribbon-like pappardelle pasta - but Derek had another idea - homemade gnocchi!
After watching numerous episodes of Top Chef - seeing the judges cite gnocchi as being the critical flaw that sends chefs packing - I was a bit weary of having Derek take on this challenge, one that he nor I had ever attempted before. We all know that a dense gnocchi is like a heavy dumpling that falls straight to the pit of your stomach. And then there's the other end of the spectrum where the gnocchi is mushy and blends into the sauce. My comment to Derek: Good Luck!
I figured I'd help with the boar ragu and leave the rest to him since I didn't want to get blamed for anything that didn't work out - quite the partnership we have :)
For starters, Derek made the Broccolini Salad from Ad Hoc that he had previously made. Simply blanched broccolini, ends peeled and trimed, with some EVOO, salt and pepper. Garnished with thinly sliced mushrooms and red onion. Topped with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette and served alongside a mound of fresh mozzarella with some EVOO and salt on top. A good way to start the evening off.
Emeril supplied us with the fantastic boar ragu recipe that we tweaked ever so slightly.
Emeril's Boar Ragu
original recipe HERE
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into small dice
1 1/2 pounds wild boar shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons Emeril's Essence (this should be a staple in every kitchen!)
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems removed, wiped clean, and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dark chicken stock, or chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and saute, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is light brown and crispy, 2 minutes (we cooked it for a bit longer - our pancetta chunks were probably a little bit larger than what the recipe calls for, on purpose). Season the boar with the Essence, and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until browned on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until very soft and starting to caramelize, 10 to 12 minutes (note: we had a lot of liquid in the pan at this point - from the meat and mushrooms...therefore, there wasn't much "caramelization" on the onions). Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Deglaze (again, not much "deglazing" to do as there was still liquid in the pan) the pan with the white wine and reduce until nearly evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes (...and it didn't totally reduce). Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, salt, pepper, sage and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thick and fragrant, about 1 1/2 hours. (NOTE: Here the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cream to be added, we omitted this ingredient, the sauce was rich enough!). Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and cover to keep warm while preparing the pasta.
Homemade Gnocchi
original recipe HERE
Gnocchi dough:
3 pounds russet potatoes (we used 2 lb)
2 cups all-purpose flour (scaled to 1 1/3 cup - but we then added more)
1 extra large egg (minus a little bit of yolk and white)
Pinch kosher salt
Directions
Place the potatoes in a large pot and just cover with cold water. Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft, about 45 minutes. While still warm, peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill onto a clean pasta board (we don't have a food mill so I grated them on a stand-up food grater, not on the largest setting).
Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle with the flour. Place the egg and salt in the center of the well and, using a fork, stir the egg into the flour and potatoes. Bring the dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed, and continue to knead for another 4 minutes, until the dough is dry to the touch. Cut a tennis-ball sized hunk of dough off the main ball and roll it into a dowel about 3/4-inch thick. Cut across the dowel to form pellets about 1 inch long. Flick each pellet down the tines of a fork to form the traditional gnocchi shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.
When you are ready to serve the gnocchi, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook until floating aggressively, 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain and serve with boar ragu. Top with parsley and freshly shaved parmesan cheese.
So how did Derek do? For a first try, I'll give him a B for the gnocchi - I think that's pretty fair - perhaps a little on the soft side as we could tell that the dough simply needed more flour than the recipe called for. The second batch deserved a B+, it was cooked for a little bit longer I believe, and really yielded a nice texture. Soft, pillowy, a perfect partner to the killer boar ragu - that one gets an A. It was awesome. I nearly licked the bowl clean before I washed it...the boar was tender (not always characteristic of boar - Derek's first boar attempt back when we were living in NYC was less than successful and pretty tough), and the mushrooms added another meaty layer in addition to the pancetta.
I really understand and appreciate now how gnocchi is such an art - the success of the little potato dumplings relies on several factors that all need to align to produce a perfect product. I read in one article that they recommend baking the potato rather than boiling it - this reduces any excess moisture that would seep into the potato, throwing off the flour-potato ration. I think I'll try that next time, and then I may take a stab at sweet potato gnocchi as well...
After watching numerous episodes of Top Chef - seeing the judges cite gnocchi as being the critical flaw that sends chefs packing - I was a bit weary of having Derek take on this challenge, one that he nor I had ever attempted before. We all know that a dense gnocchi is like a heavy dumpling that falls straight to the pit of your stomach. And then there's the other end of the spectrum where the gnocchi is mushy and blends into the sauce. My comment to Derek: Good Luck!
I figured I'd help with the boar ragu and leave the rest to him since I didn't want to get blamed for anything that didn't work out - quite the partnership we have :)
For starters, Derek made the Broccolini Salad from Ad Hoc that he had previously made. Simply blanched broccolini, ends peeled and trimed, with some EVOO, salt and pepper. Garnished with thinly sliced mushrooms and red onion. Topped with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette and served alongside a mound of fresh mozzarella with some EVOO and salt on top. A good way to start the evening off.
Emeril supplied us with the fantastic boar ragu recipe that we tweaked ever so slightly.
Emeril's Boar Ragu
original recipe HERE
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into small dice
1 1/2 pounds wild boar shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons Emeril's Essence (this should be a staple in every kitchen!)
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems removed, wiped clean, and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dark chicken stock, or chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and saute, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is light brown and crispy, 2 minutes (we cooked it for a bit longer - our pancetta chunks were probably a little bit larger than what the recipe calls for, on purpose). Season the boar with the Essence, and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until browned on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until very soft and starting to caramelize, 10 to 12 minutes (note: we had a lot of liquid in the pan at this point - from the meat and mushrooms...therefore, there wasn't much "caramelization" on the onions). Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Deglaze (again, not much "deglazing" to do as there was still liquid in the pan) the pan with the white wine and reduce until nearly evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes (...and it didn't totally reduce). Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, salt, pepper, sage and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thick and fragrant, about 1 1/2 hours. (NOTE: Here the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cream to be added, we omitted this ingredient, the sauce was rich enough!). Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and cover to keep warm while preparing the pasta.
Homemade Gnocchi
original recipe HERE
Gnocchi dough:
3 pounds russet potatoes (we used 2 lb)
2 cups all-purpose flour (scaled to 1 1/3 cup - but we then added more)
1 extra large egg (minus a little bit of yolk and white)
Pinch kosher salt
Directions
Place the potatoes in a large pot and just cover with cold water. Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft, about 45 minutes. While still warm, peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill onto a clean pasta board (we don't have a food mill so I grated them on a stand-up food grater, not on the largest setting).
Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle with the flour. Place the egg and salt in the center of the well and, using a fork, stir the egg into the flour and potatoes. Bring the dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed, and continue to knead for another 4 minutes, until the dough is dry to the touch. Cut a tennis-ball sized hunk of dough off the main ball and roll it into a dowel about 3/4-inch thick. Cut across the dowel to form pellets about 1 inch long. Flick each pellet down the tines of a fork to form the traditional gnocchi shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.
When you are ready to serve the gnocchi, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook until floating aggressively, 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain and serve with boar ragu. Top with parsley and freshly shaved parmesan cheese.
So how did Derek do? For a first try, I'll give him a B for the gnocchi - I think that's pretty fair - perhaps a little on the soft side as we could tell that the dough simply needed more flour than the recipe called for. The second batch deserved a B+, it was cooked for a little bit longer I believe, and really yielded a nice texture. Soft, pillowy, a perfect partner to the killer boar ragu - that one gets an A. It was awesome. I nearly licked the bowl clean before I washed it...the boar was tender (not always characteristic of boar - Derek's first boar attempt back when we were living in NYC was less than successful and pretty tough), and the mushrooms added another meaty layer in addition to the pancetta.
I really understand and appreciate now how gnocchi is such an art - the success of the little potato dumplings relies on several factors that all need to align to produce a perfect product. I read in one article that they recommend baking the potato rather than boiling it - this reduces any excess moisture that would seep into the potato, throwing off the flour-potato ration. I think I'll try that next time, and then I may take a stab at sweet potato gnocchi as well...
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