Cooking Italy: Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi are very good. I've only eaten potato gnocchi before. So this recipe was not only a new experience in cooking the gnocchi, but also in eating them.

These ricotta gnocchi are very light, soft, almost melty tasting. The recipe states the gnocchi will remind you of a pasta filling without the pasta around it. I agree and I like how the sauce (once mixed over too) surrounds the gnocchi and provides a great flavor.

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi, Adapted from Marcella Hazan

10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon onion, chopped very fine
2 tablespoons proscuitto, chopped
Salt
3/4 cup ricotta
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Whole nutmeg

Melt butter in a skillet and add the onion. Cook until the onion is pale gold, stirring occassionally. Add in the proscuitto and cook just to coat the meat with the onion and butter.

Add in the spinach and sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until heated through. Remove from pan and let cool.

Once cool, add ricotta and flour and mix with a spoon. Be sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg, parmesan and a very small grating of the nutmeg. Taste and add salt if needed.

Take a small amount of the mixture and roll them into small logs. Gnocchi sized. Reminded me of the size of a chocolate egg at Easter time. Flour your hands if they are too sticky when rolling.

Only cook the amount you need for your dinner. The rest can be laid on a parchment lined cookie sheet and placed in the freezer. Once firm, drop into a ziploc bag, remove the air and freeze. Frozen gnocchi can be cooked directly from the freezer.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Large enough to accomodate the amount of gnocchi you are preparing. Drop the gnocchi into the water and when the water returns to a boil, cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Serve with the tomato sauce below and freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Spinach ricotta gnocchi can be served in a variety of ways. It could be with a tomato sauce, as a soup dumpling or even gratineed. All of the methods sounded wonderful to me. I chose the Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream.

Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream, Adapted from Marcella Hazan

1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons of onion, carrot and celery, chopped very fine
2 1/2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, with their juice*
Salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Add all of the ingredients except the cream into your saucepan. Cook, uncovered at a very low simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir occassionally.

Bring the heat up and add the cream. Stir well for about 1 minute and it's ready to serve.

*I used 3 cups of my own canned tomatoes and let it simmer about 1 hour.

This is a very rich and buttery sauce. I will use this on other dishes. I am always a fan of the tomato sauces that are "pinked up". Meaning have a cream/dairy added which lightens their color and richens the taste.

Want to cook this and other dishes with a group of friends? Join Cooking Italy where we are cooking our way through Marcella Hazan's book, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.