Making gnocchi – traditional Italian dumplings – needn’t be daunting, and they don’t have to be made with potato either.
These spinach ones, from the River Cafe 30 cookbook celebrating the restaurant’s 30 years of business, are simple but flavourful, and make a great ‘primi’ or starter dish.
Spinach and ricotta gnocchi
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Baking tray
- Large saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 kg fresh spinach leaves blanched and squeezed dry
- 50 g unsalted butter
- a small bunch of fresh marjoram
- 400 g fresh ricotta
- 40 g plain flour plus extra for dusting
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 nutmeg grated
- 120 g Parmesan freshly grated, plus extra for serving
- 225 g unsalted butter
- a bunch of fresh sage leaves picked
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Melt the butter, add the marjoram, and cook for a minute. Add the spinach, and stir to combine the flavours. Season, leave to cool, then chop roughly.
- In a large bowl, lightly beat the ricotta with a fork, then sieve in the flour. Add the egg yolks, nutmeg and Parmesan and fold in the cooled spinach mixture until well combined. Taste for seasoning.
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Using two dessertspoons, take a small spoonful of mixture and, using the other spoon, mould the mixture so that it forms a gnocchi (a small oval dumpling). Place on the baking tray. The gnocchi should all be the same size, about 2cm in diameter.
- To make the sage butter, heat the butter gently so it separates. Pour out the clarified butter into a clean pan and return to the heat. When very hot, add the sage leaves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Gently place the gnocchi in the water in batches – it is important not to overcrowd the pan. When the gnocchi come back to the surface, remove carefully with a slotted spoon and briefly place the spoon on kitchen paper to drain off excess water.
- Serve immediately on warm plates with the sage butter and extra Parmesan.
Nutrition
River Cafe 30 by Ruth Rogers, Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli is published by Ebury Press.
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