Potato Gnocchi with Pastrami Ragu

Ingredients

• Rock salt
• for baking
• Two 12-ounce Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• plus more for dusting
• 2 large eggs
• lightly beaten
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• plus more for drizzling
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion
• minced
• 1 celery rib
• minced
• 6 ounces sliced pastrami
• finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup sliced chives

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Line a small baking pan with rock salt.
3. Pierce the potatoes with a fork and place on the salt.
4. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until tender.
5. As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and pass them through a ricer into a bowl.
6. Let the potatoes cool.
7. Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour.
8. Stir the eggs, the 1 cup of flour and the kosher salt into the riced potatoes.
9. Gently knead a few times to form a dough that just holds together.
10. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
11. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 piece of the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rope.
12. Cut the rope into 1/2-inch pieces and transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet.
13. Repeat with the remaining dough.
14. Refrigerate the gnocchi for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
15. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
16. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
17. Boil the gnocchi just until they rise to the surface of the water, about 1 minute.
18. With a slotted spoon, transfer to the ice water to chill, then drain on paper towels and pat dry.
19. Transfer the gnocchi to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
20. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the 1 tablespoon of oil.
21. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderate heat until translucent, 4 minutes.
22. Add the celery, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until richly browned, 15 minutes.
23. In a food processor, mince the pastrami.
24. Add the pastrami to the skillet along with the water and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
25. Simmer over low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour.
26. In a nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter.
27. When the foam subsides, add half of the gnocchi and cook over moderate heat, turning, until browned all over, 5 minutes.
28. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and gnocchi.
29. Spoon the sour cream onto 4 plates and top with the gnocchi and pastrami ragu.
30. Garnish with the chives and serve.