While on a recent trip to Italy, my friends and I visited a lovely little restaurant in Florence called La Buchetta. This recipe is inspired by a dish on their menu called “Angels and Demons Gnocchi,” which turned out to be our group’s favorite meal of the trip. While the name of the dish might sound like a tourist trap-y reference to the Dan Brown novel (or the Tom Hanks film), it is instead a reference to the interplay between the heavenly, creamy cheese sauce in which the pillowy gnocchi are bathed and the devilishly spicy tomato sauce that garnished them. It was so good, we actually ordered a second plate before we were even halfway through our first portion! Naturally, it skyrocketed to the top of my To-Cook List when I returned home.
Some subtle interrogation of the waiter revealed that the sauce was a simple combination of onion and melted cheese, staying true to the notion that the best food involves a few quality ingredients and a simple preparation. The base of the cheese sauce was a creamy Stracciatella, which is the soft center of Burrata cheese.
Unfortunately, Stracciatella is practically impossible to find on its own in our neck of the woods, so for this recipe, I used an entire ball of Burrata, adding a little bit of ricotta cheese to offset the firmer texture of the mozzarella shell of the fresh burrata. This resulted in a sauce that was a little “stretchier” than the original, but it was indulgent and gooey in the best possible way, so I marked it as a “win” in the adaptation.
Since the onion was imperceptible in the restaurant version, I opted to grate the onion rather than dice or mince it for the homemade version, further encouraging it to break down and disappear into the sauce. I had crisped some bacon for garnish and reserved the rendered fat for softening the onion, infusing the dish with even more smoky saltiness, because why wouldn’t I incorporate bacon into as many steps of recipe development as possible?
For the spicy tomato sauce on top, I used some of the Spicy Tomato Oil that I had on hand – it’s become a bit of an obsession #sorrynotsorry. Using the tomato oil imparted the perfect amount of spiciness to the dish and cut out an entire step in reverse engineering the gnocchi from La Buchetta (and further justified my addiction to this spicy/savory/tomato-y condiment). Win/win(/win)!
I used prepackaged, conventional gnocchi, but this recipe is easy to make gluten free by swapping in GF gnocchi. DeLallo makes a great store bought version (imported from Italy, no less), or you could always make it yourself with our own simple recipe.
That second plate that we ordered at La Buchetta was made without the bacon to accommodate a vegetarian friend, and much to the surprise of the group, no one really missed it. The juxtaposition of the creamy Stracciatella and the spicy tomato sauce was intriguing and flavorful enough that the bacon ended up being the culinary equivalent of “gilding the lily.”
If you really want that flavor note, but wish to keep the dish vegetarian, we suggest you give Anne Burrell’s smoky Oyster Mushroom Chips a try. You might be too busy diving in with a spoon to even bother, though. This is some of the best “cheat day” eats around. Enjoy!
- 1 pound gnocchi
- 2 slices thick cut bacon
- 1 small onion (or half of a larger onion), peeled and grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces burrata cheese
- 5 ounces ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 to 3 tablespoons spicy tomato oil
- A few sprigs of fresh oregano, stems removed
- Cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid, then strain and reserve gnocchi.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove bacon from pan, dice, and reserve.
- Reduce heat to low. Add grated onion to bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and fragrant, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add burrata, ricotta, parmesan and reserved pasta liquid to the pan and cook until melted, stirring regularly. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add gnocchi and toss until evenly coated in cheese sauce. Drizzle the gnocchi with the spicy tomato oil, then sprinkle with oregano leaves and reserved diced bacon. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply