Gnudi (Spinach Gnocchi)

From Tuscany, Phaidon, 2011.

I’ve called this ‘Spinach Gnocchi’ despite its proper name, as it’s how I think of it.

I took two bunches of English spinach, cut off the stems and then placed the leaves in a saucepan with moderate heat until they had wilted. They were then cooled and squeezed to remove them of all the moisture. The leaves were finely chopped and placed into a bowl with some ricotta (a little more than half of a ¾ cup measure), about half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese, two tablespoons plain flour, a beaten egg, grated nutmeg and salt and pepper.

I then brought a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, formed the mixture into small balls and dropped them in. When they rose to the surface they were let cook a couple of minutes more before they were scooped out and served.

About 30g butter was melted in a small saucepan with 6 sage leaves. This was poured over the gnudi, some grated Parmesan sprinkled over and they were ready to eat.

I truly enjoyed these spinach gnocchi. They were richly flavoured and the sage butter sauce was perfect. This could become one for my permanent repertoire.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔