Meatballs and Gnocchi in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
The creamiest and most flavourful mushroom sauce you've ever tasted, combined with tender meatballs and gnocchi. Can you honestly think of anything better?
Equipment
- Cast Iron Braising Pan optional
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 750 g minced beef 80% beef / 20% fat ratio
- 1 brown onion finely diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 4 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 5 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp mixed Italian herbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil for frying the meatballs
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- 500g g gnocchi
- 200 g white mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 tsp thyme leaves fresh
- 1 tbsp basil fresh
- 2 tsp oregano fresh or dried
- 1 cup beef stock
- ¾ cup vegetable stock
- ¾ cup double heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- pinch chili flakes (optional)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Meatballs:
- To a bowl, add minced beef, 1 finely diced small brown onion, 1 tsp of minced garlic, and 4 tbsp breadcrumbs. Next, add 1 egg, 5 tbsp of milk, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp of black pepper, and ¼ tsp of mixed Italian herbs. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.
- Next, begin rolling the mixture into roughly the same size as a golf ball, give each meatball a good squeeze and roll it together. Then place each meatball onto a tray until all the mixture is gone.
- Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large frying pan. Then add half the meatballs to the pan and fry, occasionally turning, until browned all over. Repeat the same process with the second batch of meatballs, adding 1 tbsp of oil back into the pan. Once all meatballs have been fried off, transfer them to a baking tray.
- Place the meatballs into a Preheated oven at 150°C (300°F) for 5-6 minutes to finish off the cooking process. Then set aside.
Creamy Mushroom Sauce:
- Add 3 tbsp of unsalted butter to the same pan in which you cooked the meatballs and melt over medium heat. Then add 3 tbsp of flour. Whisk the butter and flour together, forming a roux (thick paste)
- Slowly introduce 1 cup of beef stock to the pan while whisking until well combined, and no lumps remain. Then stir in ¾ cup of vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
- Then to the pan, add ¾ cup of double heavy whipping cream, thyme, basil, oregano and a pinch of chilli flakes. Stir together to combine.
- Add 200g of thinly sliced mushroom, 500g of gnocchi and 3 cups of whole spinach leaves. Then ¾ cup mozzarella cheese and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Stirring until cheese has melted. Taste the sauce and add salt and black pepper to taste
- Place the meatballs back into the pan and any liquid left from the tray for added flavour. Stir together until the meatballs are fully coated in the sauce (4-5 minutes), then serve.
Notes
Too much cheese? You can reduce the amount of cheese to 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup of parmesan if you find it's too much. The cheese helps thicken the sauce and adds to its flavour.
