I have a “book club” with a group of girlfriends that really isn’t a book club – we get together and eat good good and drink wine. Why is it called book club, then? Long story! Last week, we were at a restaurant that has some great short rib dishes. One of my friends ordered a gnocchi dish with bolognese and short rib. It was amazing, which meant I had to try to replicate it at home. I hosted friends on Sunday night for this challenge. Apparently the restaurant has their recipe in various places online, but I didn’t realize that until afterward. My method definitely varies, but this turned out delicious. Friends were going back for seconds and thirds!
I didn’t try homemade gnocchi because I’ve never tried making them before. I was already attempting bolognese for the first time, so I used the refrigerated ones from Wegmans.
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Gnocchi Bolognese With Braised Short Rib
Ingredients
- 3 lbs gnocchi store bought, refrigerated
- 16 oz burrata cheese
- grated parmesan cheese
Short Ribs
- 2 lbs boneless beef short ribs
- 1 onion diced
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ cup red wine
- 4 cups beef stock
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
Bolognese
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 cup diced pancetta
- Vegetables from short rib braising liquid after short ribs have cooked
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 ribs celery chopped small
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1¼ cup red wine
- 1 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup beef stock
- 3 bay leaves
Instructions
Short Ribs
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Place onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a bowl, toss with the thyme, basil, and oregano and set aside. Preheat braiser or dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. (I used my Le Creuset braiser.)
- Season the short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Once the pan is hot, coat it in a little bit of olive oil.
- Sear the short ribs for 2 minutes per side. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
- Add veggies from the bowl to the pan.
- Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, until they’ve started to caramelize.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine.
- Return the short ribs to the pan and add the beef stock. The liquid should cover about half of the short ribs. Depending on the size of the pan, you may not need all of the beef stock – you don’t want them to be covered up with too much liquid. Add some water if the short ribs aren’t covered by half.
- Move the pan to the oven and cook with the lid on for about 2 hours, until the meat easily comes off of the bone.
- Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes uncovered, then remove from the oven and let the short ribs rest while you’re making the bolognese.
Bolognese
- Place the veggies and herbs (not the ones from the braising liquid) into a blender or food processor and blend into a rough puree. I did this in my Vitamix.
- Add the veggies from the braising liquid and continue to puree. It will likely still be a bit rough, which is OK.
- Preheat a large pot (I used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven) over medium-high heat.
- Cook the pancetta, then add the veggie mixture from the blender.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water is mostly cooked out of the mixture.
- Combine the ground beef and ground pork, the add to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is browned.
- Shred the short rib meat and add to the pot.
- Add tomato paste, wine, and stock to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add bay leaves and simmer for at least an hour. Salt to taste.
Cook Gnocchi & Serve
- Prepare gnocchi according to package instructions. Remove from water immediately and add to the pot with the sauce.
- Serve in a bowl topped with grated parmesan and a scoop of burrata.
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