Gnocchi with meatballs, zucchini and dried apricots with tarragon-parmesan sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 120 g dried apricots
• 250 ml boiling water for soaking
• 700 g bratwurst, coarse
• 750 g gnocchi, fresh, from the refrigerated section
• 900 g zucchini
• 200 g date tomatoes
• 3 m.-sized onion(s)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp mint, dried
• 2 tsp paprika powder, smoked
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, dark
• 1 tbsp, heaped clarified butter for frying
• 2 handfuls of pine nuts, roasted
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 25 g butter
• 25 g flour
• 400 ml milk
• 75 g Parmesan
• 1 tbsp tarragon
• some salt and pepper, white

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

Pour boiling water over the dried apricots in a bowl and let them soak for at least 30 minutes. Cut a long slit in the skin of the coarse sausage and peel off the sausages. Cut the meat mixture into pieces about 2 cm wide and shape the pieces into balls. Wash the zucchini, remove the stem, halve or quarter lengthwise depending on the size, and then slice. Slice the persimmon tomatoes. Peel the onions and slice them lengthwise. Peel the garlic and press or finely chop. Grate the Parmesan cheese. Finally, slice the soaked apricots. Heat clarified butter in a large pan and fry the meatballs over high heat for about 4 minutes. Then add the gnocchi and fry for another 6 minutes, stirring or tossing, until the gnocchi brown and the meatballs are seared all over. Remove the gnocchi and meat from the pan and set aside. In the remaining fat in the pan, sauté the onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes at about 2/3 of the heat. Add the zucchini and apricots and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the zucchini is tender, stirring occasionally. Towards the end, add the tomatoes to the pan. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce in a small saucepan. Briefly foam the butter over high heat, then, off the heat, whisk in the flour, one at a time, to form a smooth roux. Return the pan to the stovetop, then slowly pour in the milk over medium heat, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps. Add the tarragon and continue to heat, stirring constantly, until the roux begins to thicken the sauce and the first bubbles appear around the edges. The sauce should now be around 80°C, the ideal melting temperature for the Parmesan. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the grated Parmesan, teaspoon at a time. Continue stirring so that the Parmesan melts but doesn’t clump. Finally, season the sauce with white pepper and a little salt. When the zucchini is cooked in the pan, add the dried mint, smoked paprika, cinnamon powder, and chili flakes and stir to combine. Add the meatballs and gnocchi to the pan and heat up again. Season to taste with pepper and salt. Finally, add the balsamic vinegar and toss or stir everything together again. When serving, pour the tarragon-Parmesan sauce over the dish and garnish with toasted pine nuts. Note: If the sauce has become too cold and thick before serving, you can stir it back into a creamy consistency with a splash of milk and a little heat. However, it can be a little thicker overall so that it adheres better to the rest of the ingredients in the dish.