Gnudi with brown butter and sage

Directions

1. Blanch the spinach in salty water until wilted but still vividly green. Squeeze the leaves of excess water & chop. Set aside.
2. Next heat 20g of the butter in a pan and sauté the shallot & garlic. Stir in the spinach.
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).
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.
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).
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.