Spinach Ricotta Dumplings Recipes

SPINACH-RICOTTA DUMPLINGS WITH GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and mash into a chunky sauce using a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 12 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender; puree.
• Dust a rimmed baking sheet with flour; set aside. Mix the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, egg yolks, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the flour-dusted pan, shaking the pan from side to side to coat the dumplings in the flour and smooth out their edges. Refrigerate 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Add the chilled dumplings and cook until they float to the top and are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel¿lined plate to drain. Serve on top of the tomato sauce and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with more parmesan.

MALFATTI (ITALIAN SPINACH RICOTTA DUMPLINGS IN NAPOLI SAUCE)

Steps:

• Saute garlic and onion: Heat oil in a small pot or large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes until onion is softened.
• Simmer sauce: Add remaining ingredients plus the stem of basil. Bring to a simmer, then reduce stove to low and cook, stirring every now and then, for 20 minutes. It should be fairly thick rather than a loose runny sauce.
• Drain ricotta, if needed: The ricotta should be the dry and fairly crumbly type rather than wet, soft and almost spreadable. If it's wet, see Note 1 for removing excess water (wet ricotta makes Malfatti hard to shape and cook!)
• Sweat spinach: Toss spinach with 1/2 tsp salt in large colander. Leave for 20 minutes. Roll up in tea towel and squeeze tightly to remove excess liquid. Roughly chop.
• Sauté garlic, eschalot and spinach: Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and eschalot, cook for 1 minute until translucent. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Transfer to large bowl, allow to cool.
• Malfatti mixture: Add ricotta and all remaining Malfatti ingredients into the bowl. Mix well to combine. It should be too wet to roll with hands without sticking, but still firm enough to shape into dumplings.
• Form dumplings: Using 2 dessert spoons, scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture then shape into a football (quenelle) using the two spoons. Place on a paper-lined tray. You should get about 24-30.
• Boil dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then carefully put 6 dumplings in. Cook for 2 minutes, they should float to the surface. Remove with slotted spoon on to paper towel lined tray. Repeat for remaining Malfatti.
• Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
• Assemble: Pour Napoli Sauce into a baking dish, then top with Malfatti. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
• Bake 15 minutes or until the Malfatti has a faint blush of gold on the surface (Note 3).
• Serve! Sprinkle baked Malfatti with parmesan and basil leaves (tear large leaves). Spoon into bowls and served as-is. No starchy side is required, think of these as like gnocchi. Just add a leafy green salad with Italian Dressing or Balsamic Dressing!

SPINACH RICOTTA DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a skillet, saute onion in butter till tender.
• Add spinach, cook and stir over medium heat until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in ricotta; cook and stir for 3 minutes.
• Transfer to a large bowl.
• Add 3/4 cup of flour, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt.
• Cool for 5 minutes.
• Stir in eggs; mix well.
• Place remaining flour in a bowl.
• Drop batter by tabelspoonfuls into flour; roll gently to coat and shape each into an oval.
• In a large saucepan; bring water and bouillion to a boil-reduce heat.
• Add a third of the dumplings at a time, simmer, uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean.
• Remove from the liquid with a slotted spoon; keep warm.
• Drizzle with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

BAKED GNUDI, TUSCAN RICOTTA AND SPINACH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• First of all, prepare all ingredients.
• Drain the ricotta of the whey. If you need, help yourself with a fork and a strainer.
• If you use fresh spinach, boil them in salted water for about 8/10 minutes. After that, squeeze them very well and chop finely with a knife or scissors.
• Chop the shallot or the onion for the tomato sauce
• Preheat your oven: to 180° degrees C (350° degrees F) if fan oven, otherwise 190° degrees C (375° degrees F) if conventional oven.

SPINACH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the frozen spinach and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is completely thawed, about 15 minutes.
• Drain the spinach in a strainer and allow to cool.
• Place the spinach on a clean dish towel or cloth napkin, then grab the corners to form a pouch. Twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then set aside.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
• Add the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, ricotta, Parmesan, scallions, parsley, basil, garlic, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix well. Add the spinach and mix again until the spinach is well-incorporated.
• Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly dust with flour.
• Take a generous teaspoonful of the chilled dough, roll it into a ball, then place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, making sure the dumplings don't touch.
• Make a dent in the middle of each dumpling with the end of a wooden spoon or your thumb.
• Select a saucepan that will fit a bamboo steamer. Fill it half-full with water and bring to a boil.
• Place the dumplings in a steamer basket, making sure they don't touch.
• Place the basket on top of the saucepan and steam over high heat for 10 minutes.
• Transfer the dumplings to a covered dish to stay warm while you steam the remaining dumplings.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Bring a large, wide pot of salted water to a simmer. Put the spinach in a large bowl and separate it with your hands. Add the ricotta, 3/4 cup parmesan, the flour, eggs, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the nutmeg. Mix with a fork to form a slightly sticky dough.
• Spread some flour on a plate. Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of the spinach-ricotta mixture and roll into about 24 loose balls using floured hands. Gently roll the balls in the flour.
• Bring the marinara sauce to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the butter.
• Meanwhile, gently lower the dumplings into the simmering water and cook until they rise to the surface and are firm, about 5 minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon, letting the water drain off, and add to the sauce. Gently toss to coat, then transfer to plates and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup parmesan. Serve with bread.

MALFATTI (SPINACH AND RICOTTA DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• In a 5- to 6-quart pan, bring about 3 inches of water to boiling over high heat. Pour pasta sauce into a 1- to 2-quart pan and place over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot; keep warm.
• While water heats, place spinach in a colander; press with back of a spoon to remove excess liquid. In a large bowl, mix together the spinach, ricotta, 1/4 cup parmesan, bread crumbs, onions, basil, eggs, garlic, and nutmeg until well blended. Divide mixture into 16 equal portions.
• With your hands, form spinach mixture, a portion at a time, into smooth 3-inch-long logs. Roll each log lightly in the flour and place them, slightly apart, on a baking sheet or large plate.
• When water boils, reduce heat to a simmer and add logs. Simmer, uncovered, until dumplings look dry in centers (cut to test), about 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, divide dumplings among 4 wide, individual serving bowls. Spoon warm pasta sauce equally over each serving. Offer additional parmesan and pepper to add to taste.