The 50° weather over the weekend reminded my skin what it felt like to be pleasantly exposed to air and gave me renewed hope that spring will, someday, come again. Twenty-four hours later as I trundled to work with neither gloves nor scarf, I was confronted with more blistery weather and a 10-day forecast that has thrown me into polar despair once again. So as we embark into our third (I think it’s third? I’ve lost count) vortex, I offer you comfort. Comfort in the form of gnocchi.
Gnocchi is the kind of food that looks, tastes and sounds very indulgent. I can’t argue that it both looks and tastes decadent, delicious and like it took 4 days to make, but in fact it’s a pretty easy treat to make yourself- at least this one is (I’m sure someone has figured out how to make gnocchi complicated). This is definitely a recipe that can get on the table for dinner after work.
Oftentimes gnocchi is a potato semolina combo that is served as you would pasta, in sauce (I believe the best gnocchi of this variety is served at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Nica Trattoria). I love that kind. But I also love that this recipe makes a tiny dumpling that has a little more going on in terms of its own flavor. You cook spinach, finely chop some prosciutto, stir in fresh ricotta, flour and egg yolks, and you’ve got yourself something spectacularly delicious. Not a surprise, since this hails from the late and great Marcella Hazan, the culinary authority of all things Italian.
I happen to live with two Italian culinary authorities, in the form of felines named Rocco and Lorenzo. I cook a lot at home, and they are never interested in food for humans, unless it has been salted or cured, or both. Anchovies, sardines, pecorino cheese, bacon and prosciutto. Especially prosciutto. As soon as I unwrapped the prosciutto for the gnocchi, Lorenzo was at my ankles, and when I turned around while cooking the spinach at the stove, I caught him hanging from the side of the island. Using all of his cat force to get a taste of this Italian treasure.
Hopefully you’ll love this gnocchi as much as Lorenzo does. I gratinnéed mine with Parmesan (I was mentally unable to pass on the option of covering these in more cheese and browning it in the oven), but if you have the willpower I am sure these would also be tasty in a bowl of your favorite red sauce.
Ingredients
- 1lb fresh spinach or one 10z package frozen leaf spinach, thawed
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon onion chopped very fine
- 2 tablespoons chopped prosciutto
- Salt
- 3/4 cup fresh ricotta
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, divided
- Whole nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and thickly smear a baking dish with butter.
- If using fresh spinach, soak it in several changes of water. Place into a pan with only the water that clings to the leaves, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and cover the pan. Cook over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes or less. Drain it, and as soon as it is cool enough to handle, squeeze it gently in your hands to drive out as much moisture as possible, chop it coarsely, and set aside.
- If using thawed frozen spinach, cook in a covered pan with salt for about 5 minutes. Drain it, and when cool squeeze all the moisture out of it that you can, and chop it coarsely.
- Put 2 tablespoons of butter and onion in a small skillet and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes pale gold, then add the chopped prosciutto. Cook for just a few seconds, long enough to stir 2 or 3 times and coat the meat well. Add the cooked, chopped spinach and some salt, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Turn out the contents of the skillet into a bowl. When the spinach has cooled down to room temperature, add the ricotta and flour, and stir with a wooden spoon, mixing the ingredients well. Add the egg yolks, 1 cup of grated Parmesan and a tiny grating of nutmeg. Mix until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Taste and correct for salt.
- Make small mounds of the mixture, shaping them quickly by rolling them in the palm of your hand. Ideally they should be no bigger than 1/2 inch across, but you can make them up to 3/4 inch if it's difficult to get them that small. If the mixture sticks to your palm, dust your hands lightly with flour.
- Drop the gnocchi, a few at a time, into 4 or 5 quarts of boiling, salted water. When the water returns to a boil, cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then retrieve them with a colander scoop or a large slotted spoon, and transfer to the baking dish. Drop more gnocchi in the pot and repeat the procedure described above, until all is the gnocchi is cooked and in the baking dish.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan and pour it over the gnocchi, distributing it evenly. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated Parmesan on top.
- Bake on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to settle for several minutes before serving.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/02/25/gratinneed-spinach-and-ricotta-gnocchi/
