Ricotta Gnocchi

4.95 from 40 votes

A light and airy Italian dumpling made with ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese instead of potatoes. Easy to make, prepare and serve in less than 30 minutes.

Prep Time25

Cook Time3

Total Time28

Course: Main Course, primo, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 333kcal

Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

Ingredients

Ricotta Gnocchi

2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese 1 pound
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1 ½ cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 3 ounces, divided
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Butter Lemon Sage Sauce

4 tablespoon butter unsalted
8 Sage leaves
½ lemon juiced
¼ cup Parmigiana-Reggiano
½ cup reserved gnocchi boiling water

Instructions

Ricotta Gnocchi (Gnudi)

Stir together ricotta, eggs, 1 cup cheese, nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add flour, stirring to form a soft, wet dough.
Shape dough on a well-floured surface with lightly floured hands into 2 (1-inch-thick) ropes. Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces with a light floured knife. Put in 1 layer on a lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet.
Press fork tines gently on the gnocchi to mark one side.
Cook gnocchi in 2 batches in a pasta pot of boiling salted water ( 3 Tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water), adding a few at a time to pot and stirring occasionally, until cooked through (cut one in half to check), 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Lift out with a slotted spoon or spider and drain the gnocchi in colander. Save ½ cup of the cooking water to add to the sauce -- you may not need the full ½ cup -- it is up to you.
Toss gnocchi with brown butter in skillet and sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of Parmigiana-Reggiani cheese and some of the cooking water.
Serve Immediately.

Butter Sage Sauce With Lemon

While the gnocchi cook, melt butter in a 12-inch sauté pan or heavy skillet and continue cooking until golden brown color (noisette) appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter. Do not rush this.
Continue to stir and once you have the golden brown color remove the skillet from the heat and add the sage leaves.
Add the lemon and set aside.
Gently pour the drained gnocchi into the sauce pan and return to heat.
Add the cheese and a little of the reserved boiling water and toss to coat.
Serve immediately.

Notes

TIPS:

Drain the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve lined with paper towels for a few hours or preferably overnight.
Don't refrigerate fresh gnocchi for more than a few hours, they tend to ooze water and become soggy. Freeze instead.
Cook the dumplings in small batches so the cold gnocchi don't lower the boiling water temperature too much. The gnocchi may absorb too water.
Use freshly grated parmesan cheese. It's is lighter and finer than the pre-grated parmesan so it melts into the gnocchi better.
We like to store the frozen dumplings in layers in a freezer container.
To cook, place while still frozen into boiling salted water, cooking for an extra 1 minute.
Have the sauce ready before starting to cook the gnocchi.
Use a light colored pan for making the brown butter - it's easier to see the color so you don't burn it.
Eat immediately after cooking.

NOTES:

You can easily make just half of the recipe -- that's why the picture in the blog only shows ½ the recipe ingredients.
You need a gentle hand in forming these gnocchi -- they are very light and tender.
Adapted from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ricotta-gnocchi-242001

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