By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 30 minutes, plus 2 hours' refrigeration
- Rating
- 4(84)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Gnocchi are Italian dumplings. Classic gnocchi are made with potatoes and flour, but there are variations, like these considerably lighter Florentine gnocchi made with spinach and ricotta. I serve them with a simple marinara sauce. They are also good simply tossed with a little butter or olive oil and sage.
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Ingredients
Yield:60 1-inch gnocchi, serving 6
- 1½pounds bunch spinach, stemmed and thoroughly cleaned, or ¾ pound baby spinach
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 8ounces ricotta (1 cup)
- ⅓cup all-purpose flour (about 45 grams)
- 2eggs, beaten
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 2ounces Parmesan, grated (½ cup)
- Marinara sauce for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Blanch the spinach for no more than 20 seconds in salted boiling water. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop fine.
Step
2
Heat the butter or olive oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan and add the spinach, salt (remembering that you will be adding Parmesan, which is salty), pepper, ricotta and flour. Stir together and let the mixture sizzle while you stir constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs, nutmeg and Parmesan. The mixture should be stiff. Transfer to a bowl, cover well and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer.
Step
3
Line a sheet pan with parchment and dust generously with flour. Remove the gnocchi mixture from the refrigerator. There are a few ways to form the gnocchi. You can scoop out small balls by the rounded teaspoon and place on the parchment (they will be sticky so use another spoon to scrape them out of the measuring spoon), or you can divide the dough into 4 pieces and on a floured surface, with lightly floured hands, gently roll each piece into a coil about ¾ inch wide. Cut into 1-inch pieces and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Alternatively, place the mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a ⅝ inch round tip and pipe 1-inch blobs onto the parchment. Don’t worry if the dough is sticky.
Step
4
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Meanwhile heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan. Adjust the heat under the water so that it is boiling gently and drop in the gnocchi, about 10 at a time. If they stick to the parchment or your hands lightly flour your fingers and sprinkle a little flour over the gnocchi. Once they float to the top simmer for 4 minutes, then move them to the pan of sauce with a slotted spoon. Serve with the sauce and additional Parmesan to taste.
Tip
- Advance preparation: The dough can be refrigerated for a day or two. The cooked gnocchi will keep for a day in the refrigerator and can be reheated gently in tomato sauce, in olive oil or butter, or by dipping into gently boiling water.
Ratings
4
out of 5
84
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Cooking Notes
SHines
These gnocchi, though delicious, had very little structural integrity and turned to mush once topped with sauce. Would suggest adding more flour or only one egg. From past gnocchi experience, the egg could probably be foregone entirely for a drier mixture.
wilcoworld
This needs patience. Squeeze that spinach. Use better ricotta, drain if too watery, butter rather than oil(adds firmness). Followed all steps, in order of ingredient list, stir thoroughly each time to incorporate... let chill as long as possible. Used 1 floured board for forming coils to divide into small gnocchi-like shapes. Then, into gently boiling water as directed. Not a doughy potato version. Lighter but flavorful. Added salt/pepper & parmesan at serving. Next time more nutmeg.
ireneB
These are delicious and were a hit with my family, including my 2 year old, served with Kim Sverson’s marinara. I used only one egg and froze the gnocchi for an hour after forming them. Used quite a bit of flour to form them. They held their shape just fine and were so soft they melted in your mouth.
Berta
Is it necessary to blanch the spinach before the cooking? If chopped really fine/minced and then cooked in butter with other ingredients, wouldn't it have the same structure needed?
MDelia
These gnocchi in theory should hold their structure well. After a lot of the the obvious occurred to me. This recipe needs to be in weight measurements! Like, how much is a bunch of spinach (or however it reads) ? Really? I am not a measuring cook but these are so good, I plan to weigh out the ingredients next time.
John
The gnocchi was very well received by my guests. Just follow the recipe instructions as written. I cut the gnocchi in 1/2 inch long pieces as they expand quite a bit as they cook .
Pauline
This recipe was awesome. I made it with mature spinach from the garden. After reading the notes, I squeezed all the water out of the spinach and the ricotta with a cloth before mixing and chilling the dough in the fridge overnight. The dough was easy to work with, and though the gnocchi were delicate, they didn't dissolve in the water. I finished them with sage butter as they used to do at Bottega Restaurant in Baltimore. Can you freeze these?
Hi, it's Collyn Wainwright with Pilkerton
Yes, I freeze mine after boiling laid out for IQF on a cookie sheet - then put in a ziplock bag the next day and they are ready to go from freezer to saute pan for a quick meal.
Mo
I wish I would have read these comments before taking all this time to make them. Mine turned to mush also. Delicious yet flawed.
thelettermegan
Added more flour, let the gnocchi hang out in the tomato sauce for a bit. This was a surprisingly challenging recipe
ireneB
These are delicious and were a hit with my family, including my 2 year old, served with Kim Sverson’s marinara. I used only one egg and froze the gnocchi for an hour after forming them. Used quite a bit of flour to form them. They held their shape just fine and were so soft they melted in your mouth.
wilcoworld
This needs patience. Squeeze that spinach. Use better ricotta, drain if too watery, butter rather than oil(adds firmness). Followed all steps, in order of ingredient list, stir thoroughly each time to incorporate... let chill as long as possible. Used 1 floured board for forming coils to divide into small gnocchi-like shapes. Then, into gently boiling water as directed. Not a doughy potato version. Lighter but flavorful. Added salt/pepper & parmesan at serving. Next time more nutmeg.
Kelly Dent
I had to add at least 1 cup more flour. Good, though.
SHines
These gnocchi, though delicious, had very little structural integrity and turned to mush once topped with sauce. Would suggest adding more flour or only one egg. From past gnocchi experience, the egg could probably be foregone entirely for a drier mixture.
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