Gnudi with rich beef ragu
See this recipe step by step

Gnudi with rich beef ragu

Make these Italian dumplings (like super-light gnocchi) and slow-cooked sauce the day before, so there's hardly any work on the night

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Plus overnight setting
Freezable

Method

  1. To make the gnudi, break up the ricotta with a fork, mix in parmesan and season with ground black pepper. Cover one large, or two smaller, trays with a good layer of semolina, then (Pic 1) drop large teaspoons of the mix on top and gently roll so they become coated balls (Pic 2). You'll make about 40. Pour the rest of the semolina over, almost completely covering the balls, and put in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. This creates a crust on the gnudi so they stay together while cooking.
  2. To make the ragu, heat the oven to 190C/ fan 170C/gas 5. Season the meat really well. Tie the carrots, leeks, celery and herbs tightly in a bundle. Heat a good splash of olive oil in a big heavy pan, then add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes. Next, add the beef and leave to sit and sizzle until the chunks are well browned underneath (do in batches if you need to) - they will naturally lift and come away from the pan. Turn them over and cook for a further 10 minutes, making sure you move the bacon so it doesn't burn. You can always take the bacon out and return it to the sauce at the next step.
  3. When both sides are browned, add the vegetable bundle. Pour in the tomatoes, add the herbs and wine and bring to the boil, turning the heat up to drive off the raw alcohol, then let it bubble and evaporate for about 10 minutes or so, scraping the sticky bits of meat from the bottom of the pot.
  4. At this stage you'll need some more liquid, so pour in water until it almost covers the meat. cover with a lid and put in the oven for 1 hour, then take the lid off, give it a good stir, and pop it back in to cook for another hour so a lot of the liquid can evaporate.
  5. Leave the sauce to cool for half an hour or so then, using two forks, Pull the meat apart and shred it well (Pic 3). Chop the vegetables finely, then return both to the sauce (Pic 4). If the sauce is soupy, return to a simmer and cook to reduce a little, but remember this is a sauce so it shouldn't be dry. Taste, season and discard the herb bundles. This makes enough to feed ten people. Freeze the extra to serve with mash or rigatoni pasta another time.
  6. To cook the gnudi, bring a large pot of water to the boil with a good amount of salt. Carefully drop in the gnudi in batches (Pic 5), wait a minute or two until they float to the top, then fish them out and keep warm while you cook the rest. Put in bowls, spoon the ragu on top and sprinkle with parsley. Add a little parmesan if you like, then serve.

PER SERVING

1295 kcalories, protein 101.2g, carbohydrate 105.3g, fat 52.5 g, saturated fat 23.1g, fibre 4.9g, salt 3.15 g

Recipe from olive magazine, November 2010.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Jo Ryan

    21 November 2010

    Jo Ryan commented on this recipe

    Lovely, tasty and a really impressive dinner party dish that can be made mostly in advance. Very deep flavours and quite filling, a real winter warmer!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo ROK

    18 January 2011

    ROK rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    made the ragu and served with homemade pasta - truly delicious and lovely if refrigerated and served the next day

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Irmgard

    19 January 2011

    Irmgard commented on this recipe

    This looks just scrummy! Would one be able to substitute beef short ribs for some of the cuts of meat listed in the ingredients? These cuts are not available at my supermarket.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Dover

    21 January 2011

    Dover commented on this recipe

    The ragu, absolutely delicious! The Gnudi somewhat a gloopy disaster :( Obviously the ricotta that is available here is more moist than that which is assumed in the recipe. I was wondering about the "break up the ricotta with a fork"... After a bit of research, it turns out that most other gnudi recipies recipes both strain the cheese and adds flour. So beware if your cheese is moist ;)

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo simon lee

    03 April 2011

    simon lee commented on this recipe

    fantastic flavors and reasonably easy to do

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Mrs L

    19 April 2011

    Mrs L rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    The beef ragu is great, but the dumplings fell apart when I boiled them. Don't know what went wrong, but I'm totally ticked off about the waste of ingredients and time to make them. Ended up making egg noodles with it.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo **Flora**

    03 May 2011

    **Flora** rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    HOW can this be "super-light" when it has 1295 calories in it??! That's over 4 times the amount on most of the gnocchi! I made the gnudi alone (I'm vegetarian) using ricotta, cheddar, goats cheese, semolina and marscapone. It was soooooooooo good and we all only needed a couple of pieces each, it was so filling!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Pinksam13

    10 October 2011

    Pinksam13 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Gnudi was sloppy mess, only read about straining the cheese afterwards - whoops! Thought for the amount of fuss the Ragu wasn't even any better than my mum's scouse, which is infinately better value and better tasting. don't think i'll be making this again :(

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo smallishtree

    16 October 2011

    smallishtree commented on this recipe

    I haven't tried this yet, but will. I'd guess that if the gnudi was a 'gloopy mess', maybe it wasn't covered in semolina or left uncovered in the fridge overnight. I think this would draw out some of the moisture making it easier to handle. Will let you know...

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo alexjlcox

    26 October 2011

    alexjlcox rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The beef ragu is delicious, a littel bit of effor but well worth it!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo FieldChooks

    15 April 2012

    FieldChooks commented on this recipe

    Gnudi turned out great.. I boiled them for only about 30 seconds then rolled them in parmesan and popped them in the oven - delicious and crispy instead of slimy! The ragu needed thickening a little but was also very tasty. Worth the effort for a dinner party.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Plus overnight setting
Freezable

Ingredients

FOR THE GNUDI

FOR THE BEEF RAGU

  • 1kg beef shin, skirt or ox cheek , cut into fist-size chunks
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 leeks
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 2 bay leaves
  • small bunch flat-leaf parsley , plus extra, chopped, to serve
  • small bunch sage
  • olive oil
  • 200g thick-cut bacon , cut into chunks
  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • ½ bottle red wine
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

PER SERVING

1295 kcalories, protein 101.2g, carbohydrate 105.3g, fat 52.5 g, saturated fat 23.1g, fibre 4.9g, salt 3.15 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
  • You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and get a free book gift

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 249, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here