What I had for dinner:

Beef and Carrots with Gnocchi

28 Jul 1994 00:12:26 -0400

I got the gnocchi I had been looking for on Saturday. Since they need a rather substantial sauce and I wanted to make leftovers for lunches, it was time for beef with carrots. I do not like to eat cooked carrots, but I like very much the taste they impart to sauces (try adding one finely grated carrot to your next spaghetti sauce, for instance).

I browned thoroughly the well trimmed piece of beef (2 lb of a cheap cut on sale), removed most of the oil, and added a purée of 2 carrots, 1 onion, and 4 cloves of garlic. This was cooked briefly, then water was added halfway up the meat together with 2 bay leaves. It was cooked for 40 min in a pressure cooker (this would take 2 1/2 - 3 hours otherwise; that patient I'm not).

The meat was removed and sliced in thick slices. The liquid was strained through a sieve to remove all large insoluble matter, and liquid and meat were returned to the pot to simmer while the gnocchi cooked. They take only a few minutes in plenty of boiling water. Gnocchi are done as soon as they float up to the surface, and they must not be overcooked as they would rapidly turn to glue.

Salt to taste and sprinkle generously with black pepper. Makes about 4 dinner-sized servings of meat.