Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi

Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi

These light but wonderfully comforting gnocchi-like balls are gently flavored and so delicious.
Ingredients

12 oz ricotta 340g
12 oz spinach 340g, weight after any thick stems have been removed
1 egg
2 oz all purpose flour 60g plain flour, a little under ½ cup
1 oz parmesan 30g, finely grated, around ½ cup
1 dash pepper (to taste)

Topping

Cherry Tomatoes

Lemon Juice Lemon Zest

EVOO

Butter

S&P

Instructions

Place the ricotta on a piece of kitchen paper (or clean starch-free dish towel) in a strainer and cover with an additional piece of kitchen paper. 

Leave to drain excess liquid for around an hour.

Place spinach in a bowl, pour over boiling water and leave for a couple minutes to wilt.

Drain the spinach and place spinach in a clean dish towel. Squeeze out as much water as possible, moving it around then squeezing again. 

Finely chop the spinach and unless you're really sure how dry it is, it can be worth trying to squeeze again before you set aside.

Pat dry the ricotta to remove any drained liquid then put it in a bowl with the spinach, egg, flour, parmesan and pepper. Mix all together then cover and refrigerate for ideally 2 hours, or at least an hour. 

Once it has rested, prepare a baking sheet with parchment sprinkled with flour to put the gnudi on. Get a little bowl with cold water to use for your hands as you work.

Take a spoonful of the mixture at a time (I use a tablespoon measure to get roughly even size) and with slightly damp hands, roll into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all of the mixture, 

trying to work quickly so you don't get the dough too warm and sticky. Dampen your hands with the water in your bowl as needed.

If time suits, you can chill the prepared gnudi for a couple hours until you need to cook them, or cook straight away.

Bring a wide, shallow pan of water to the boil. Add a few gnudi at a time to the water, keeping the water over a high heat so it continues to boil.

When the gnudi rise to the top, remove with a slotted spoon to an oiled bowl and repeat, cooking in batches.

Serve as you prefer but suggest with browned butter - for this quantity melt around 3 ½oz/ 100g butter in a skillet and allow to cook over medium heat until it becomes a nutty smell and gently brown color. 

Once the butter has melted you can add around 3-4 chopped sage leaves for a lovely flavor that works well with the gnudi.

Notes

I'd recommend cooking these in a wide, shallow pan such as Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 5-½-Quart Saute Pan or Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Round Braiser.