Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi Recipes

SPINACH AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH QUICK TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Unwrap the ricotta cheese from the cheesecloth; the texture should be pretty dry and crumbly. If it is really dry (this is good) pass it through the food mill with the biggest holes. Put the cheese into a large bowl.
• Finely chop the squeezed spinach and add it to the ricotta. Add the eggs, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and nutmeg. Mix until well combined. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Add in 1/4 cup of flour. If the mixture is still very wet, add in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.
• Dust a sheet tray generously with flour. Coat another sheet tray generously with semolina flour. Fill a pastry bag with the ricotta/spinach mixture. Pipe 1 1/2-inch balls of the cheese mixture onto the all-purpose flour lined tray. Shake the tray around to coat the balls in flour. Roll each flour coated cheese piece around in your hand to form a ball. Do this gently so as to not squish the cheese balls. Arrange them on the semolina lined tray.
• Bring a saucepan full of water to a boil over medium heat. Set up a bowl of ice water. In the bottom of each tomato cut an "X" in the skin. Working in batches, put the tomatoes in the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds ONLY! Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and put them immediately into the ice water. When the tomatoes have cooled, remove them from the ice water and the skin should come off very easily.
• Remove the stems and seeds from the tomatoes; coarsely chop the tomatoes and reserve.
• Coat a large straight-sided saute pan, over medium-high heat, with olive oil. Add the onions, season with salt, to taste. Toss in the crushed red pepper and cook the onions until they are soft and aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and season with salt, to taste. Bring the tomato mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
• Toss in the basil just before serving.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat until the water is at a simmer. Carefully add the gnocchi to the simmering water. Cook until the gnocchi float and have begun to swell, 3 to 5 minutes.
• On individual serving plates, spoon some sauce on each plate and spread it out until it becomes a 4 to 5-inch circle.
• Using a spider or long handled mesh strainer, carefully remove the gnocchi from the cooking water, blot on a tea towel and arrange 5 gnocchi on each circle of sauce. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot salted water to a boil.
• Cut the stems off the spinach, and soak the leaves in the sink. Wash them thoroughly.
• Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove spinach from the water and plunge in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
• Drain the spinach very well, and using a clean tea towel, squeeze out the extra water. Chop the leaves very fine.
• Put the cooked spinach in a large bowl, add the ricotta, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, egg yolks, and season with a couple pinches salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix well, and make sure that the ricotta crumbles into fine pieces, and mixes properly with the spinach. Shape the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.
• Lightly butter a 13 by 9-inch casserole dish, lay all the gnocchi in it, and dress it with a few very thin slices butter and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Cook the gnocchi at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, and then use the broiler for the last 5 minutes to crisp and brown the top of the spinach balls.
• In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, and saute the sage until it starts to brown. Serve the gnocchi on a warm plate and dress with the sage-butter sauce, and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Squeeze the spinach completely dry, in small handfuls, over a bowl. Transfer the spinach to a food processor. Add the ricotta, 2/3 cup Parmesan, they egg yolk and 2 tablespoons flour; pulse until the spinach is very finely chopped and the mixture is thoroughly combined.
• Lightly dust your hands with flour so the mixture doesn't stick to your hands.
• Scoop 1 teaspoon of the spinach mixture and roll into a ball. Place on a plate and cover with wax paper or parchment. Repeat with the remaining mixture. You should have about 40 gnocchi.
• Working in batches, boil the gnocchi until they rise to the surface, about 3 minutes. Drain the gnocchi with a slotted spoon or mesh spider and transfer to a plate or bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan, let cool slightly and serve.

GNUDI (RICOTTA GNOCCHI)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add basil and cook uncovered until just wilted, about 1 minute. Immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain. Squeeze very dry and finely chop.
• Mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup flour, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, egg yolks, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add basil, white pepper, and salt; mix until gnudi mixture is well-combined.
• Dust your hands with remaining 1/4 cup flour and form gnudi mixture into small balls.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lemon juice. Boil gnudi in batches until they float to the top of the water, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CHEESE GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Drain the ricotta cheese in a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl until it is very dry. Transfer the cheese to a large bowl and set it aside.
• Cook the spinach in batches in a covered large soup pot with no additional water until the spinach has wilted. Drain it in a colander, and when cool enough to handle, squeeze the spinach as dry as possible with your hands to remove excess water. You should have about 2 cups of squeezed spinach.
• Chop the spinach coarsely, then purée it in a blender or food processor until it is very smooth. Transfer the spinach to the bowl with the cheese and stir in 1/3 cup of the grated cheese, eggs, mint, salt, nutmeg and pepper, and mix well. Begin adding the flour a little at a time until a soft dough is obtained and is not sticking to your hands.
• It is easier to form the gnocchi if the dough is refrigerated for several hours or overnight.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Using two soupspoons, shape heaping tablespoons of the dough into an oval or egg shape then gently slide the dough off the spoon onto the floured surface.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. With a spoon, scoop up about 8 to 10 gnocchi at a time and add them to the water. Boil them until they float.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large sauté pan and stir in the sage leaves. Cover the pan and keep the sauce warm.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove and transfer the gnocchi to the sauce tossing them gently until well coated with the sauce.
• Divide between 8 individual plates and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese. Serve hot.

SPINACH - RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH GARLIC SAUCE

Steps:

• Gnocchi: Add milk and bread to a shallow dish, let bread soak 10 minutes, then squeeze excess milk from the bread.
• In a medium bowl, combine bread, spinach, ricotta, eggs, grated parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Fold the flour into the spinach mixture, flour your hands and roll heaping tsps into balls.
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil, add gnocchi in batches, cook 2 minutes or until gnocchi rises to the surface, transfer to a serving plate with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
• Sauce: Combine ingredients in a small saucepan, cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until the butter is lightly browned.
• To serve, drizzle sauce over gnocchi and top with shaved Parmesan.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Cook spinach in large pot of boiling salted water just until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain. Squeeze out liquid. Chop spinach.
• Mix spinach, ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup flour, egg yolks, salt, pepper and nutmeg in bowl until slightly sticky dough forms.
• Dust baking sheet with flour. Working in batches and using floured hands, roll 1/4 cup dough on floured work surface to form 5-inch-long rope. Cut rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece between palms to form oval. Transfer gnocchi to prepared baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping with remaining dough. Working in batches, add gnocchi to pot of boiling salted water; cook until gnocchi rise to surface. Cook 4 minutes longer. Using slotted spoon, remove gnocchi from water; drain. Place in serving dish.
• Pour butter over gnocchi; toss. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Reheat in 400°F oven about 10 minutes.) Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Wash the spinach, then place in a pan with just the water that clings to its leaves. Cover. Cook over low heat for 6-8 minutes or until wilted. Drain well and set aside.
• Squeeze out as much liquid as possible then finely chop the spinach. A processor works well for this. Place the spinach in a bowl along with the ricotta cheese, half the Parmesan cheese, the eggs, nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Beat until thoroughly combined. Sift in the flour and lightly work it into the mixture, adding enough to make a workable mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
• With floured hands, break off small pieces of the mixture and roll into walnut-size balls. Handle as little as possible, they are delicate. Lightly dust the gnocchi with flour.
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boiling point. Add the gnocchi and cook 2-3 minutes until they rise to the surface. Remove from pan and drain well.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter for the herb mixture in a large, heavy-bottom skillet over low heat. Add the oregano and sage and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the gnocchi and toss gently to coat. Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.