Gnocchi di Ricotta

(Unedited)

I've never been a big fan of potato gnocchi. They don't have much taste and often times mine come out like dead weights. Ricotta gnocchi have a lot more taste and are easier to make light. Often times we have extra homemade ricotta left over, say, from pizza night, so this recipe is a quick way to use it up. This particular recipe calls for a very simple sauce from tomato pulp, but you could use basil pesto or butter and sage. The original recipe called for Parmigiano-Reggiano, but we think pecorino tastes better, and we've added some parsley and grated nutmeg. The nutmeg is awesome. Finally, we reduced the amount of flour slightly to make them even lighter.

Sugo di Polpa di Pomodoro - get this going first

500 g whole milk ricotta (in order of preference: freshly made, then Calabro brand, then Polly-O brand)

120 g grated aged pecorino (add a little salt if you use a milder pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano)

2 (112 g) large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork

chopped parsley to taste (I will measure next time, but doesn't have to be precise)

freshly grated nutmeg to taste (I will measure next time)

175 g Caputo Doppio Zero 00 (11.5% protein, aka Classica) or sifted unbleached all-purpose flour (11.7%)

1. Mix ricotta to make it softer.

2. Mix in Pecorino, parsley, and grated nutmeg.

3. Mix in eggs.

4. Mix until homogeneous.

5. Mix in flour gradually. Mix briefly. We don't want the flour to get glutinous.

6. Flour the work surface with semola di grano duro rimacinata (see Ingredients page), if you have it.

7. Form a circular loaf. Don't knead it too much at all.

8. Break off a piece and roll it into a log of about 1.5 cm in diameter.

9. Use a plastic scraper to cut gnocchi diagonally. You don't have to do the weird fork-flipping thing afterwords. They are fine as-is.

10. Place on a tray floured lightly with semola.

11. Cook gnocchi in boiling water until they rise to the top. Take them out immediately. It's easy to overcook them. If you want, you can try one to be sure they are done.

12. Put the gnocchi directly in the sauce and stir well.

13. Dish out into bowls or plates. Top with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, a few basil leaves, and a little pecorino (or parmigiano-reggiano if you used that).

(this photo was taken from the original recipe without parsley, will update it soon)