Gnudi with brown butter and sage
studious_foodie
Photo by studious_foodie
- Serves
- 2
- Prep Time
- 1 Hour 15 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 5 Minutes
Like gnocchi, but made with ricotta as opposed to potato. These are soft quenelles of pure 'naked' joy, the name alluding to the lack of a pasta/ravioli casing. They can also be called "malfatti" (literally "badly formed/made" because their shape can slop rather erratically during the poaching). Gnudi (pronounced 'nyoo-dee', the 'g' is just as silent as the pillowy-ness of these delights) is classically served with a sage brown-butter sauce.
Ingredients
- 150-200 gram SPINACH
- 70 gram BUTTER
- 1 SHALLOT
- 1 clove of GARLIC
- 35 gram PLAIN FLOUR
- 115 gram RICOTTA
- 1 large EGG YOLK
- 50 gram grated PARMESAN
- 1 teaspoon LEMON ZEST
- 1/4 teaspoon WHITE PEPPER
- 1 handful FRESH SAGE leaves
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Directions
- Step 1
Blanch the spinach in salty water until wilted but still vividly green. Squeeze the leaves of excess water & chop. Set aside.
- Step 2
Next heat 20g of the butter in a pan and sauté the shallot & garlic. Stir in the spinach.
- Step 3
Plop this into a large bowl and mix in the flour, ricotta, egg yolk, parmesan & lemon zest. Season with the white pepper & sea salt (I use Maldon).
- Step 4
Traditionally these little gnudi are round, but I've gone for a more modernist/ minimised mess approach. So with two tablespoons shape the mixture into large quenelles and place on a tray dusted with flour.
- Step 5
Chill for at least an hour. I would recommend making them in the morning & cooking them later in the day. When ready to serve, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and poach those gnudi for about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon fish them out and onto a bed of whatever base you desire (pasta, salad, etc).
- Step 6
While the gnudi are poaching put the leftover 50g of butter into a frying pan. Let melt and then scatter in the sage leaves. By the time they crisp up and the butter browns the gnudi should be done!! Ladle over lovingly & then scoff it.