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Gnocchi ricotta (recipe)

October 19, 2001 – 12:43 am

Gnocchi are essentially Italian dumplings generally made with potatoes. You may not be aware, though, that you can also make them with cheese. I am currently eating gnocchi ricotta with marinara, and it's quite excellent. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

- 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups flour

- 15-oz container of whole milk ricotta

- 2 eggs, beaten

- marinara sauce (recipe to follow)

- olive oil

- salt and pepper, to taste.

If you're making the marinara from scratch, have it ready before you begin making the gnocchi.

Place flour on a clean surface and make a well in the middle. Mix in eggs, ricotta and salt and pepper and knead into a dough. Continue kneading gently for a couple of minutes, adding flour if necessary.

Once the dough is dry to the touch and soft and springy, break it into a few balls about the size of your fist. Roll them out into long strips and cut the strips into 1/2 inch pieces (the size of the strips doesn't matter much, so long as they're not too thick and approximately the same size).

Start heating your marinara, and put a pot of water on to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the oil and gradually add the gnocchi. You can cook them in batches if your pot is too small. When the dumplings rise to the surface of the water, they're done. Carefully scoop them out with a slotted spoon or spatula, drain them and add them to the marinara. Saute in the marinara just until the gnocchi are covered in sauce and serve topped with parmesan.

There are a number of alternate methods here. The simplest is to skip the marinara altogether — drain the gnocchi, place them in a bowl, and add butter, salt and pepper. My favorite variation, though, is the lasagna method. After the gnocchi are done and coated with the sauce, place half of them in a casserole dish. Cover with a layers of spinach, parmesan and mozzarella, then add another layer of gnocchi, etc., until you're out of ingredients. Make sure the last layer is cheese. Bake for about 10 or 15 minutes, and you have a killer dish.