Join A Secret Italy

Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe. Little pillows that melt in your mouth!

by Kira (Pastagirlrecipes)
(Florida)

Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe

My Father would make his Gnocchi recipe with me when I was a child. I remember we would sit around the kitchen table together after he had prepared the pasta dough after he had rolled out each long round strand of the potato mixture for me to cut into one inch pieces.

Then the fun part would begin. Rolling the gnocchi dough over the fork to make the rigate (striped) impression into the potato pasta dough.

These are the things I remember as I cook and why Italian pasta recipes are so dear to my heart. There is usually a found memory attached to each delicious meal. There is no doubt that Italians have their priorities right and food, family and good times shared are number one.

While I was visiting my cousins in Milano they shared a ricotta gnocchi recipe with me that I was very anxious to try. Gnocchi is probably more popular the North of Italy because potatoes rather then wheat is more abundant. Leave it to the Italians to make the most out of what is fresh to their region. Both Luca and SImone, my cousins, promised me the experience I would have as each delicate bite of the fluffy gnocchi hit my tongue would be like consuming a piece of a fluffy cloud in the sky. This mental image of such an angelic delicacy was too much for me to take. I had to make the ricotta gnocchi as soon as I returned from my trip.

I used:

1½ cups of 100% milk fat Ricotta cheese. Use a good quality one brand.
½ cup of all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon chopped Italian parsley

Mixing all the gnocchi recipe ingredients together to create a firm but slightly sticky texture I began forming the gnocchi.

Two spoons are required to handle the pasta dough. One to scoop out the bite sized portion and the other to scrap it from the spoon and shape it onto a flat surface.

Once you have your gnocchi's formed you bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully place a group (you will probably have to cook them in sections) of the gnocchi in the water. Try not to crowd the pot.

How do you tell when they are complete? Simple. They float to the top. Use a strainer of slotted spoon to remove the cooked gnocchi and set aside until you've completed all of the batches.

Have your pasta sauce ready before you begin cooking the gnocchi so when they are complete you can toss with your favorite Italian pasta sauce and serve.

As the gnocchi land on your tongue you will feel the lightness melt in your mouth.