my italian dream – passioneats

When I was in cooking school, we did a two-part concentration on Italian cuisine. During those months, I was quite surprised to learn how easy it was to make one of my favorite Italian indulgences: gnocchi. Even more surprising was my discovery of gnocchi made with ricotta–a much lighter alternative to the usual potato. Now, I don’t want to scare anyone off here. I, myself, wouldn’t even consider making pasta from scratch. On the one hand, I prefer dried pasta; on the other hand, who has the time? But this is really a breeze to throw together, and kind of fun too. With just a little advance prep, you too will be bragging, “I made it myself!”

The gnocchi recipe here is really enough to serve 8 people. I roll out and cut up the whole dough, cook half now, and freeze the other half in a ziploc bag for a quick dinner another time. If you prefer, just divide the recipe and make only half. As it is early spring here, I thought it would be lovely to saute the gnocchi with some shallots and fresh peas for a bit of earthiness, and prosciutto chips for a salty bite. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and shavings of parmesan cheese and then tuck in to these delicate, fluffy pillows…

Ricotta Gnocchi with Peas & Prosciutto

Top-notch ingredients are especially important in this dish–your gnocchi will only be good as the quality of your ricotta. Buy the freshest you can find. The ricotta I purchased here came in a perforated can, so it was well-drained. If your ricotta is very wet, you may want to place it in a fine strainer over a bowl and drain for several hours or overnight, covered in plastic wrap, just to remove any excess moisture.

Mix the ricotta with finely grated Parmesan, 2 lightly beaten eggs, freshly ground nutmeg, and salt to taste. Stir until well combined. Place the flour on a work surface and make a well in the center. Put the ricotta mixture in the well and slowly work the flour in, until you have a malleable dough. Don’t overwork it, or it will become tough. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead the dough a couple of times and then form into a fat loaf.

Using a bench scraper, cut off a fat piece from the end of the loaf. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll this piece out until it is a long skinny log, about 1/2 inch thick. Using the bench scraper, cut crosswise into 1 inch pieces. Continue cutting up the rest of the dough in this manner. As the gnocchi is cut, place it on a baking sheet that’s lined with lightly floured parchment paper and then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Bring a pot of salted water to full boil. Blanch the peas, removing them with a skimmer or slotted spoon, as soon as water comes back to the boil. Immediately shock in ice water, then lay out on paper towels to drain. Bring the pot of water back to boil, and add gnocchi. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until gnocchi are all floating in the pot. Remove with a skimmer and drain on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay 4 slices of prosciutto di parma (preferably imported, because it’s less salty) on a rack and bake for 10 minutes until crispy.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt good quality butter until it begins to turn brown. My favorite butter is an Irish brand, Kerrygold–very rich and creamy. Saute finely chopped shallot until translucent, then add the blanched peas. Add the gnocchi and a bit more butter to the pan. Sauté until it begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes, tossing frequently. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and finish with julienned sage leaves.

Serve the gnocchi and peas in shallow bowls. Break the prosciutto strips in shards and lay on top of the gnocchi. Garnish the dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Ricotta Gnocchi
Serves 8:

1 1/2 pounds fresh ricotta
1 3/4 cups finely grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

Pea & Prosciutto Sauce
Serves 4:

1 cup fresh peas
4 slices prosciutto di parma (imported)
1 large shallot, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons good quality butter
2 tablespoons sage leaves, julienned
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
parmesan cheese, shaved
extra virgin olive oil

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Ricotta Gnocchi with Peas & Prosciutto

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