Read & Print Recipe from www.greatgrandmother.org

 

Spinach-Ricotta Gnocchi

This is an easy [35 minute] recipe that uses leftover garden spinach (even if it's been frozen) and serves eight people. It goes well with crisp white summer wine and is not heavy. I love to serve this with a fruit dessert.

Use 10 ounces of spinach, either fresh or frozen. If you use frozen, then make sure to thaw and squeeze the liquid from it. You want dry chopped spinach to use in this recipe.

In a large bowl, stir in two farm fresh eggs--large ones--and two large yolks, 16 ounces of ricotta cheese (I like the nonfat ricotta), 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and the same amount of ground nutmeg. Mix well.

Then gently fold in one cup of grated Italian cheese, like Parmigiano-Reggiano, and one cup of cake flour. (You can use all purpose flour as well, but it might be a bit heavier dough).

Gently roll into a nice pliable dough and on a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 inch ropes. Cut them into 1 inch (or smaller if you prefer) pieces.

You can begin to cook these in small batches, in a large pot of boiling "sea water" (salted water), for about four minutes, or until they pop to the top. I prefer to freeze them first and then dump them into the water frozen.

Drizzle whatever you wish on them as a dressing.

--you can make a herbed brown butter glaze to top them

--you can prepare a basil, EVOO, tomato, and chive chop-chop sauce to dress them with

--you can drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some fresh minced herbs

--you can dress them with goat cheese morsels, olive oil, and hot pepper flakes

Whatever you select, have fun and be creative...and try to use fresh, seasonal stuff!