Pillows of happiness.

The first time I ever had gnocchi was when my husband’s mum cooked them for us. I never ever even heard of them before then. They were new and different. I didn’t know what to expect. But as soon as I tried them, I fell in love. Served with a flavoursome pasta sauce, gnocchi make a wonderful yet filling meal. What I love about these ricotta gnocchi is that they aren’t stodgy so don’t leave you feeling bloated like their potato cousins.

Of course, with hubby’s background being Italian, I had to learn to cook with gnocchi. You can buy packets of them from the supermarket but after making them myself I don’t think I can buy them pre-made ever again. I watched his mum make them a few times first before I embarked on the gnocchi making journey myself.  

There are two ways you can make gnocchi – with potato, or with ricotta. With hubby being a cheese hater (and he calls himself Italian?!), I have previously made gnocchi with potato. This is what his mum does so I just followed suit. By using potatoes, it makes the dough heavier resulting in a much heavier meal. Then I decided to not tell my hubby and made gnocchi with ricotta. Well.. he said they were excellent! That was music to my ears! He said he couldn’t taste the cheese in there at all. The dough was much lighter than it’s potato cousin.

Ricotta Gnocchi

Gnocchi make a wonderful change to pasta such as spaghetti and penne. It's a fair amount of effort to make but not complicated if you're an intermediate level cook. Definitely worth giving a go! Thanks to the ricotta, these are light and not stodgy like their potato cousins.

Italian, Lunch, Main Course, Pasta

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 2 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 2 minutes mins

Servings 3 people

Ingredients

 

• 450 g whole-milk ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 to 1 cup flour

Instructions

 

• Add several layers of paper towels onto the bottom of a colander. Add the ricotta and let the cheese drain for about an hour. (This can be done several days in advance)
• In a large bowl, mix the strained ricotta, egg, cheese, salt, and 3/4 cup of the flour until all ingredients are mixed together. This next part is important so don't skip...cover the dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes. This firms up the dough making it easier to handle.
• Check the dough by rolling a bit in your hand. It should feel a bit tacky to touch. If it clings to your fingers like bubble gum, mix in some more flour, about one tablespoon at a time until you reach a tacky, workable consistency. Again, don't skip this - refrigerate the dough again for another 15 minutes to firm it up.
• Before shaping, put a large pot of water on the stove to bring to a boil. Sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and set it close to your work space.
• Sprinkle your hands and work surface with a little flour. Cut the dough into quarters. Each quarter, cut in half again and roll it into a thick log about 2cm thick.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 2cm pieces. You can leave them as little 'pillows' or shape them like I do into traditional grooved gnocchi by rolling them off the back of a fork with your thumb.
• Transfer this batch to the baking sheet and toss with flour to prevent sticking. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping process with the remaining dough.
• Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the boiling water and drop into the water about half of the gnocchi. Gently stir the gnocchi to make sure they don't stick. Once they bob to the surface, let them cook an additional 1-2 minutes at most. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander set over a bowl to finish draining.
• Repeat with second batch of gnocchi.
• Toss the gnocchi with sauce and serve immediately.

Notes

• Instead of grated parmesan cheese, you can use grated pecorino cheese if available.
• By grooving the gnocchi with a fork, it helps the sauce "cling" to each pillow.
• Once cooked, the gnocchi should be served immediately so it's a juggling act to ensure both the gnocchi and sauce/vegetable mixture are ready at the same time. Several people find this challenging so this is the order I do things:
  • Make the gnocchi dough, have it rest in the fridge.
  • Prepare the vegetables and other ingredients Start cooking the sauce/vegetable mixture
  • Roll and cut up the gnocchi.
  • Get a pot of hot water boiling.
  • Finish off the sauce/vegetable mixture.
  • Cook the gnocchi Mix gnocchi and mixture together, serve
• Gnocchi freezes very well and will keep for up to one month. You can actually freeze them longer than this, they are safe to eat, it's just that the fresh aspect of the gnocchi diminishes. To freeze them, spread the gnocchi out on a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray and place in the freezer until the gnocchi are firm. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag or container. Frozen gnocchi can be put directly into boiling water to cook.

Keyword Italian, Lunch, Main Course, Pasta