Recipe: Ricotta Gnudi

The key to a light and fluffy gnudi is adding as little flour as possible. Draining the ricotta of any excess liquid will keep you from having to add more flour to absorb it.

For an alternative version, substitute 1 cup of ricotta for 1 cup of mashed potatoes. This gives you a sturdy, toothsome gnudi and is another great way to use up leftovers.

Note: If freezing gnudi, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and very lightly sprinkle with flour. Place cut gnudi on baking sheet, making sure the gnudi are not touching each other. Freeze tray until all the gnudi are frozen completely solid, and transfer to a zipper freezer bag. Frozen gnudi will take an extra 2 minutes to cook in boiling water.

Ingredients

Ricotta:

• 1 16oz tub of full fat ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• Few grinds of black pepper
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• Flour for dusting

Brown Butter Sage Sauce:

• 1 stick butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 1 bunch fresh sage leaves, picked
• ½ cup toasted slivered almonds for garnish

Preparation

Set a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl, and line with cheesecloth or a double layer of clean paper towels. Scrape the ricotta into strainer and let drain, pressing with a spatula until it ceases to drip. Scrape drained ricotta into a large bowl, stir in egg, salt and pepper. Fold in flour until it is just absorbed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Resting the dough for 30 minutes allows the flour to absorb the remaining moisture from the ricotta cheese, so you don’t have to add more flour.)

Divide dough into four equal portions in bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough into a ½” thick rope. Using a floured knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into 1” long gnudi. Place cut gnudi onto floured baking sheet and repeat with the other three portions of dough. Add gnudi to boiling water a few pieces at a time. Stir gently so the gnudi does not stick together. Cook until all of the gnudi floats, about two minutes.

In a large skillet on medium heat, add butter, shallots, garlic and sage, cook until sage is crispy and butter has browned slightly. Remove sage and place on paper towel lined plate and reserve.

Once gnudi has boiled, transfer to brown butter skillet on medium heat. Fry gnudi in butter sauce until golden brown on each side. Sprinkle fried sage leaves on top and serve.