Mama Zuquinis Malfatti Recipes

MALFATTI RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• Drain cooked spinach and squeeze out extra liquid until very dry. Combine with all ingredients, except flour. Refrigerate 1 hour. Bring pot half full of salted water to a simmer. Drop spinach cheese mixture by tablespoons into flour and roll each lightly into long logs. Cut into 1.5 inch dumplings. Drop dumplings into the gently simmering water. When they rise to the top, remove with a slotted spoon (approximately 3 to 5 minutes). In a saucepan, heat butter and sage leaves until both are browned and sage leaves are crisp. Spoon butter over malfatti and top with the crisp sage leaves. If preferred, top with more Parmesan cheese.

MAMA ZUQUINIS ZUPPA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Combine pasta, water and bouillon in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, for 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is tender and broth has reduced to about 1/2 cup; do not drain. Reduce heat to low; add pesto.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has reduced slightly. Stir in tomatoes, broccoli and beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese before serving. Season with ground black pepper, if desired.

BADLY MADE DUMPLINGS (MALFATTI)

Steps:

• Note: I chopped the spinach finely in a food processor (only too about 5 seconds) then boiled it very briefly-about 15 seconds in boiling, salted water. Refreshed the spinach under cold running water in a fine mesh strainer and used a wooded spoon to squeeze out the excess water. The original recipes reads: Boil the spinach in well-salted water until tender, refresh under cool running water, and squeeze as dry as you can. Chop spinach finely (either in a food processor for evenly green dumplings or with a knife for a speckled appearance.).
• Mix the spinach with the ricotta and other ingredients except salt, pepper and tomato sauce to make a very soft dough.
• Season lightly with salt and pepper, but not with a heavy hand - the flavors are very subtle.
• Roll [1] golf ball-sized lump as round as you can in plenty of flour. The dough is so soft you will never manage a sphere, but that is why they are called malfatti. I used an oiled cookie scoop to shape the dough. I soon realized the less I touch the dough, the better. May take a few times preparing this recipe to get the hang of it.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil (the spinach water is fine if you still have it) and drop in the ball to make sure it is strong enough not to break up. If the ball doesn't break apart, roll the rest of your dough to make about a dozen dumplings. If it isn't, mix a bit more flour in, and then roll the balls.
• Cook at a gentle simmer for 10-15 minutes, counting from when they rise to the surface. You can take them out sooner if you like an oozing middle. I cooked the malfatti a solid fifteen minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the dumplings to a serving platter.
• Two topping options and I tested both: Topping #1. Serve malfatti on a bed of warm tomato sauce and top with grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese.
• Topping #2: Or fry butter with 12 sage leaves until the leaves are crispy and the butter nutty; pour directly on top of the malfatti. Serve with amount of grated Parmesan. However, I skipped the Parmesan cheese for topping #2.

MAMA ZUQUINIS PASTA ARABICA

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium-high heat in large saucepan until hot. Add onion; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute or until fragrant.
• Add tomatoes, broth, salt, cinnamon, coriander, pepper and cloves to saucepan; bring to a boil. Add choice of meats. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in mint.
• Add sauteed zucchini and yellow squash for a side dish.

MRS. SEBASTIANI'S MALFATTI

Steps:

• Cook the fresh spinach in the water clinging to the leaves after washing, or cook the frozen according to package instructions. Drain over a bowl, squeezing out as much water as possible - do this in small handfuls so you can press out the most water - and chop. Reserve the water.
• Briefly soak the bread in the reserved spinach water plus enough hot water to cover and squeeze dry.
• Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix the spinach, bread, sautéed onion and garlic and put through the finest blade of a meat grinder or pulse in a food processor until chopped, then scrape into a mixing bowl.
• Add 1/2 cup of the dry bread crumbs, the cup of Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper and basil. Stir in the eggs. With lightly floured hands, gently shape the mixture into sausagelike links, 1 inch round by 3 inches long. If they do not hold together, add more bread crumbs. Lay on a baking sheet.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the links, one at a time, into the boiling water. Reduce the heat to let the water barely simmer and cook until the malfatti float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and place in a greased baking dish, large enough to fit the malfatti in a single layer.
• Spoon the tomato sauce over the links, sprinkle with lots of cheese and broil to reheat.

MAMA ZUQUINIS MALFATTI

Steps:

• Place the frozen spinach in a saucepan with the salt. Cook until thawed (15 min) over low heat. Drain squeezing out the water from the spinach and then mince until fine.
• In a large bowl, combine the spinach, breadcrumbs, the two cheeses, eggs, the herbs, the nutmeg and black pepper. Mix well and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to make, form oval dumplings 3 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter. Roll each dumpling in the flour. Do not let them touch each other while they stand.
• Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop the dumplings into the salted water to form one layer. When they have risen to the surface, cook for 4 more minutes.
• Lift out the cooked malfatti, letting them drain well, and place into a well-buttered oven proof dish in a 250 degrees F oven while the other batches cook.
• To serve, toss with butter and serve. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and 1 cup marinara per person.
• NOTE: can be frozen after cooking. To serve, toss frozen malfatti in melted butter and Parmesan cheese, place in a well buttered dish and heat in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.