An earthy, meaty, rich, creamy and luxurious sauce, full of warmth, textures and Italian flavours, combined with soft and pillowy homemade Potato Gnocchi - can indulgence get any better than that?
Gnocchi with Sausage & Porcini Sauce is a delicious, rich, creamy, and hearty dish, full of warmth, textures, and Italian flavours.
Italian, fennel-flavoured sausages add a lovely meaty texture, earthy and nutty Porcini mushrooms a creamy and tender bite. Combined with rich, velvety cream, and the gentle flavour and delicate acidity of white wine, they form a rich, hearty and luxurious sauce. Perfect with HOMEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI and ideal for the colder season.
Similar to Penne alla Norcina, a traditional pasta dish from Umbria, Italy, containing Umbrian pork sausages and either mushrooms and/or black truffle, this dish falls under the category of Pasta Bianca, or White Pasta, indicating that it is prepared without tomatoes.
Gnocchi with Sausage & Porcini Sauce is a real comfort dish. Naturally, with all that comfort come along those calories... However, it is also immensely satisfying, and once in a while, it's perfectly fine to indulge a little, right?
Although pasta is typically served in Italy as a Primo, or starter, due to the richness of this dish, we usually have it as a main course, followed by a large bowl of salad.
It does make an excellent starter and wonderful treat for a dinner party though. Both the sauce and the
HOMEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI can be prepared in advance - use store-bought, if you prefer. The sauce can be reheated quickly, and the Gnocchi take just a couple of minutes to cook, requiring minimal time and effort on the night. Followed by a main course of HONEY & THYME ROASTED PORK, with a side of MINI POMMES ANNA, HASSELBACK POTATOES, or GRATIN DAUPHINOIS, and a large bowl of leafy green, or mixed salad, just to give you some ideas, you're all set and ready to party!
The sauce is relatively quick and easy to prepare: the dried mushrooms rehydrated in water, the onions, chilli and garlic sautéed with a pinch of salt, then the sausage meat added and browned. The pan is deglazed with the wine. Meanwhile the drained and chopped mushrooms are fried and than added to the pan. The cream and mushroom soaking liquid are added, and together with the seasoning, the sauce is left to cook gently until flavourful, creamy and indulgent. Combined with Gnocchi and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan or Pecorino, a truly Italian delight.
TIPS and VARIATIONS:
This recipe uses dried porcini mushrooms. I prefer dried over fresh for this sauce, because fresh Porcini are difficult to find, and when we finally do, we prefer them simply grilled with a bit tof olive oil and salt, or sautéed in oil or butter with garlic, and a splash of lemon juice. For this rich, creamy and sausage-flavoured sauce, dried Porcini are ideal. However, you can certainly use fresh ones, or a combination of both.
The sauce pairs wonderfully with HOMEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI, but is equally delicious with Pici, a traditional pasta from Tuscany, as well as penne, rigatoni, and others.
I have made this dish numerous times and with a variety of different sausages: pork sausages, mixed pork and beef, and even Chipolatas, each resulting in a slightly different but delicious sauce. Sometimes, I add a spoonful of dried fennel seeds to the onions at the beginning to make up for the missing fennel flavour of the Italian sausages.
I use fresh cream, with about 35% fat, and it works well. You can opt for double-cream if you like, but steer clear of low-fat cream, as the reduced fat content might cause the sauce to separate.
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg boosts the dish's earthy flavours.
To manage the spiciness, I sauté a small dried chilli together with the onions and garlic to infuse the oil with spice. Once the oil is spicy enough, I remove the chilli.
Optional: Add a splash of Truffle oil to the sauce at the end, or offer it at the table for your guests to add it as they like.
How to prepare:
GNOCCHI WITH SAUSAGE & PORCINI SAUCE
Recipe based on: Katie Caldesi: How To Make A Sausage And Porcini Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
Makes 6 Portions
500 g (18 oz) Italian pork sausages (or other pork, mixed pork & beef, or Chipolatas)
50 g (1.8 oz) dried Porcini mushrooms
1 large, or 2 small red onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small dried red chilli
100 ml (3.4 fl oz) dry white wine
150 ml (5.1 fl oz) full-fat cream
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
sea salt
HOMEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI , ca. 125g per person
DIRECTIONS:
Gather all the ingredients.
Re-hydrate the mushrooms: Place the dried porcini in a bowl, cover with warm water and leave to soak until re-hydrated and soft, about 20 minutes.
Prepare the remaining ingredients: Meanwhile, finely dice the onions. Crush the garlic with the back of a large knife and peel. Make an incision along the side of the sausages and remove their skins.
Sauté the onion, garlic and chilli: Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the onions, garlic and chilli together with a pinch of salt, and sauté gently until the onion is soft and translucent - about 10 minutes. Check the oil every so often and remove the chilli once the oil is sufficiently spicy for your taste. If you prefer the sauce spicier, you can leave it inside until the end, but don't forget to remove it before serving.
Add the sausage meat: Crumble the sausages into the pan. Stir and leave to fry and brown for a bit.
Deglaze the pan: add the white wine, then increase the heat until the sauce starts to bubble. Simmer, until all the alcohol is evaporated.
Drain, cut and fry the mushrooms: Meanwhile drain the mushrooms, catching the soaking liquid in a jar, making sure to leave any sand or residue on the bottom of the soaking bowl. Roughly chop the mushrooms.
(Zero-waste suggestion: the mushroom water can be used for mushroom stock)
Heat a second frying pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add the drained, chopped mushrooms and fry gently until they start to shrink a little. Season with pepper.
Finish the Sauce: Add the mushrooms to the sauce and stir well, then add the cream, stir, and leave to heat through. In case the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, just enough so that the sauce has a nice consistency. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Serve with HOME-MADE POTATO GNOCCHI or a short pasta of your choice, sprinkled with freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiono.
TEXT-ONLY RECIPE
GNOCCHI WITH SAUSAGE & PORCINI SAUCE
Gnocchi with Sausage & Porcini Sauce is a delicious, rich, creamy, and hearty dish, full of warmth, textures, and Italian flavours.
Tips for SAUSAGE & PORCINI SAUCE
Recipe based on: Katie Caldesi: How To Make A Sausage And Porcini Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
Makes 6 Portions
500 g (18 oz) Italian pork sausages (or other pork, mixed pork & beef, or Chipolatas)
50 g (1.8 oz) dried Porcini mushrooms
1 large, or 2 small red onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small dry red chilli
100 ml (3.4 fl oz) dry white wine
150 ml (5.1 fl oz) full-fat cream
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
sea salt
HOMEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI , ca. 125g per person
METHOD:
Gather all the ingredients.
Re-hydrate the mushrooms: Place the dried porcini in a bowl, cover with warm water and leave to soak until re-hydrated and soft, about 20 minutes.
Prepare the remaining ingredients: Meanwhile, finely dice the onions. Crush the garlic with the back of a large knife and peel. Make an incision along the side of the sausages and remove their skins.
Sauté the onion, garlic and chilli: Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add enough olive oil so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Add the onions, garlic and chilli together with a pinch of salt, and sauté gently until the onion is soft and translucent - about 10 minutes. Check the oil every so often and remove the chilli once the oil is sufficiently spicy for your taste. If you prefer the sauce spicier, you can leave it inside until the end, but don't forget to remove it before serving.
Add the sausage meat: Crumble the sausages into the pan. Stir and leave to cook and brown for a bit.
Deglaze the pan: add the white wine, then increase the heat until the sauce starts to bubble. Simmer, until all the alcohol is evaporated.
Drain, cut and fry the mushrooms: Meanwhile drain the mushrooms, catching the soaking liquid in a jar, making sure to leave any sand or residue on the bottom of the soaking bowl. Roughly chop the mushrooms.
(Zero-waste suggestion: the mushroom water can be used for mushroom stock)
Heat a second frying pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the drained, chopped mushrooms and fry gently until they start to shrink a little. Season with pepper.
Finish the Sauce: Add the mushrooms to the sauce and stir well, then add the cream, stir, and leave to heat through gently. In case the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved mushroom liquid, just enough so that the sauce has a nice consistency. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Serve with HOMEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI or a short pasta of your choice, sprinkled with freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.
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