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Jun 7

Cheaters Gnocchi


I’m constantly on the hunt for recipes I can create entirely from scratch. Theres something about taking a few simple ingredients and having them transform into a hearty meal with your own two hands. The idea of making gnocchi from scratch had always intrigued me, but I’ve always assumed the process to be daunting and time consuming. When I found this recipe for a cheater version, I just had to give it a shot. The combination of ricotta, mint and spinach was one I had never considered, and I was pleasantly surprised by how the flavours enhanced one another. The process was relatively quick (basically: mix, roll and boil) and resulted in light as a cloud little dumplings that taste (almost) like the real thing, without all the hassle.

::what you’ll need::
for the gnocchi:
.2 1/2 cups ricotta
.1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
.2 eggs, lightly beaten
.1 cup plain, all purpose flour, sifted
.2 tsp. lemon rind
.1 tbsp. finely chopped mint leaves
.250g chopped spinach
.1 cup semolina

for the sauce:
.1 cup cream
.1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
.1/2 cup mint leaves
.sea salt and cracked pepper

::what you’ll do::
for the gnocchi:
.Mix the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, flour and lemon rind
.Sprinkle your surface with a generous amount of semolina flour
.Grab 1/4 of the ricotta mixture and roll it out to a 4 x 30cm long rope. (Note: it is quite sticky – I used a lot of semolina to coat the outside)
.Cut the rope into 2cm long lengths
.Repeat with remaining mixture
.Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water. Ensure you do this in batches. They should take 2-3 minutes to cook and will rise to the surface when done

for the sauce:
.Pour the cream into a saucepan and warm through over high heat (for 1-2 minutes)
.Add the gnocchi, extra parmesan, extra mind, salt and pepper and toss to coat

.Serve with additional parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon.

*Recipe adapted from Donna Hay’s Seasons cookbook

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