Hare ragout with gnocchi

Ragu di lepre, or hare ragu, is a classic Tuscan ragu that is traditionally served with pappardelle pasta. Here, however, we have chosen to serve our ragu with gnocchi, which makes a good alternative to pasta.

Try giving gnocchi a shot. You will be surprised how easy they are to make and how great they taste. Buon appetito!

First, you will need:

• 1 hare, divided into 8 pieces

To make the marinade:

• 1 red onion, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 carrot, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bottle of Chianti
• 10 peppercorns

Then, marinate the hare pieces for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

To make the ragu:

• 1 red onion, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 carrot, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 250 ml tomato passata
• Water
• olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 1 handful broadleaf parsley, finely chopped

Remove the hare from the marinade and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Pour the marinade through a fine sieve and heat it to boiling point. Remove the foam that rises to the surface. Set aside.

Place a heavy-bottomed sauté pan on a medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil, and brown the meat well on all sides. Add the chopped vegetables and fry them for 5 minutes until the onions are clear.

Add the garlic, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper, then add the tomato passata and the cleared marinade. Reduce the heat to low and let it all simmer. After an hour, remove the loin pieces from the pan and simmer the thigh pieces for an additional 30 minutes.

Take the thigh pieces from the pan and strip all the meat from the bone, and do the same with the loin pieces. Chop the meat as fine as possible with a sharp knife and return it to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To make the gnocchi:

• 700 g baking potatoes
• 100 g wheat flour type 00
• 1 egg

Bake the potatoes in the oven at 200 degrees. Allow them to cool down, so they are easier to work with.

Halve the potatoes and scrape out the flesh. Pass them through a potato ricer into a bowl with the egg and flour. Knead lightly by hand so that the dough just comes together. Divide the dough into four pieces. Sprinkle a little flour on the table and roll out the dough into long sausages, approx. 1.5 cm thick. Cut the dough into 3 cm long pieces and these are your gnocchi. You can then roll the gnocchi on a fork to obtain a bit of texture.

Note: It is important not to knead the dough too hard, as this will release the starch from the potatoes. This will make the gnocchi heavy and rubbery. If you knead with a light touch, you will get light and delicious gnocchi.

Put a pot of water to boil on the hob and add salt. Meanwhile, heat up your ragu in a pan and add 50 g of butter.

Drop your gnocchi into the pot of boiling water. When they come to the surface, they are done. Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan with the ragu. Add a little of the water you cooked your gnocchi in. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

Lastly:

Serve with freshly grated parmesan, a little chopped parsley and a few drops of good olive oil.