Ricotta Gnocchi With Spring Herb Pesto Recipes

RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan Cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl until evenly combined. Mix in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-thick ropes on a floured surface. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in diced tomatoes and red pepper flakes; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in shredded basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Boil the gnocchi until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes, then drain.
• To assemble the dish, stir the cubed mozzarella cheese into the sauce and allow the heat of the sauce to soften, but not melt the cheese. Place gnocchi into a serving bowl, and spoon sauce overtop.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH PARSLEY PESTO

Steps:

• Put ricotta in a large mixing bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Whisk in Parmesan and taste. The mixture should be well seasoned. Add eggs and mix well, then sprinkle in 1/4 cup flour and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate. You should have a soft, rather sticky dough. Dump dough onto a clean work surface. Add a little more flour if necessary and pat very lightly to form a soft mass.
• Test the dough: Bring a saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Take 1 tablespoon of dough and drop into water. Dough should sink to the bottom, then rise to the surface. Let simmer 1 minute, then remove and taste. If the dumpling keeps its shape, continue to Step 3. If it falls apart, add a little more flour to the dough, but carefully: If you add too much, the gnocchi will be stodgy.
• Dust dough lightly with semolina, then cut it into 4 equal parts. Dust work surface with semolina. With your hands flat, gently roll each piece into a rope about 3/4-inch in diameter and 12 inches long. Keep sprinkling semolina on dough to keep it from sticking to the counter or your hands.
• Using scissors or a sharp, thin-bladed knife, cut each log into 12 pieces. Dust bottom of a baking sheet with semolina. Transfer gnocchi with a spatula to baking sheet, leaving space between them so they are not touching. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour (or leave in a cool room).
• To make the parsley pesto, put parsley, garlic, olive oil and butter in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly, then blend to a rough purée. Taste and season with salt and pepper. You should have about 1 cup pesto, more than you need for this recipe. Leftover pesto can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to a month.
• Place a large pot of well-salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add gnocchi, working in batches, if necessary. When they bob to the surface, let them cook for about 2 minutes and lift them from the pot with a slotted spoon or spider, transferring gnocchi to a large, wide skillet. Add 4 to 6 tablespoons pesto and 1/2 cup pasta cooking water to skillet and swirl pan to coat gnocchi.
• Serve gnocchi in warmed individual shallow soup bowls or a deep, wide platter. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and dust with Parmesan. Pass more grated Parmesan separately.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan, olive oil, eggs and 1 teaspoon salt with a whisk in a large mixing bowl. Add the all-purpose flour in 3 parts, stirring with a rubber spatula.
• Bring the dough together in a ball and cut off one-quarter of it. Dust the work surface with all-purpose flour to prevent sticking, and roll the cut-off piece of dough into a dowel shape about 5/8 inch in diameter. Cut the dowel into 5/8-inch pieces. Dust some parchment paper with semolina flour and place the gnocchi on it to prevent sticking. Repeat with the rest of the dough, quarter by quarter.
• Cook the gnocchi in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Serve tossed with a bit of the Pancetta Tomato Sauce. Alternatively, you can freeze the uncooked gnocchi for up to 2 weeks.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan and reserve, leaving the fat behind.
• Add the diced onions to the hot pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the crushed tomatoes, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the lid, add the reserved pancetta and cook an additional 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, stir in the basil and serve.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH LEMON BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, whip the ricotta to break up the curds. Add the egg and stir until evenly combined.
• 2. Add flour and mix well.
• 3. Roll into snake, cut into 1/2 inch piece and make an indentation with your thumb into each gnocchi.
• 4. Dust with corn meal.
• 5. Place in boiling water when they rise to the top they are done.
• 6. MAKE PESTO BEFORE COOKING GNOCCHI!! Place lemon in food processor and process till finely chopped.
• 7. Add basil, pine nuts and garlic blend.
• 8. Add cheese and drizzle olive oil in as processing.
• 9. In a medium hot saute pan add 2-3 tablespoons of oil and 4-5 strips of lemon zest
• 10. Add drained gnocchi to saute pan add prepared lemon pesto toss add some parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Place the ricotta in a large bowl and stir in the Parmesan, egg, parsley, thyme, tarragon and salt and pepper. Stir in the flour. Begin to knead the mixture in the bowl with your hands until it holds together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, with lightly floured hands, gently knead the dough until smooth and well blended, working in more flour if it is too sticky.
• Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll 1 piece out to a rope about 1/2an inch in diameter. Using a knife, cut the rope into 3/4-inch segments. Hold a fork upright on your work surface with the tines curved toward you. Gently roll 1 segment of dough against the tines to mark it lightly with ridges. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet and repeat until all the dough is used. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook. The gnocchi will keep, refrigerated, for 1 day.
• To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot 1/4 full of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and stir once very gently. Cook until the gnocchi float, then for 1 minute more (about 4 minutes total). Immediately drain, toss with olive oil and serve as desired.

GNOCCHI WITH HERB PESTO

Steps:

• Bring the salted water to a boil and then add gnocchi. Cook gnocchi, stirring gently until tender, about 1 minute after they rise to the surface of the pot.
• Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, bring the stock and butter to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and pesto and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
• Remove gnocchi from the water and add to the skillet. Heat through until coated with the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Serve immediately.
• Wash the herb leaves in cool water and dry them thoroughly, preferably in a salad spinner. Combine the herbs and garlic in a blender and blend on low speed, slowly adding the oil while the machine is running, until the pesto is smooth and all the oil is incorporated. Add salt to taste.
• Keep in a sealed jar in the refrigerator and use as needed. Pesto will keep for up to 4 weeks or it may be frozen for up to 3 months.
• Yield: 1 1/2 cups

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH PESTO CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate until the 'dough' holds the shape of a ball when rolled between your hands, at least 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface roll the dough into long strips and pinch off 1-inch pieces (the same size as regular gnocchi). Work fast or your dough will start to become super tough to work with! Put the gnocchi on a plate and put back into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• While the gnocchi is resting, make the pesto sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a blender and pulsing until combined. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over medium heat on the stovetop. Drop in the gnocchi, a few at a time, and watch for them to rise to the surface of the pot. After 1 minute at the top of the pot, about 3 minutes total, remove them with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl. Top with the pesto cream sauce and a dash of cracked pepper and serve.

GNUDI (RICOTTA GNOCCHI)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add basil and cook uncovered until just wilted, about 1 minute. Immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain. Squeeze very dry and finely chop.
• Mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup flour, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, egg yolks, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add basil, white pepper, and salt; mix until gnudi mixture is well-combined.
• Dust your hands with remaining 1/4 cup flour and form gnudi mixture into small balls.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lemon juice. Boil gnudi in batches until they float to the top of the water, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.

GNOCCHI WITH PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook gnocchi according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; saute zucchini and pepper until zucchini is tender., Add pesto and gnocchi, stirring gently to coat. Stir in tomatoes. If desired, top with pine nuts.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH SPRING HERB PESTO

Steps:

• For the gnocchi: In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add just enough flour to make a soft dough that will not stick to your floured hands, about 1/2 cup. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. On a lightly floured board, with floured hands, roll each piece into a 3/4-inch-thick rope, 14 to 15 inches long, then cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Place the gnocchi on a lightly floured tray and refrigerate for 2 hours to allow the flour to hydrate and the gluten to relax.
• For the pesto: In a food processor, combine the parsley, chives, mint, pine nuts, and salt and process to a paste. With the motor running, gradually add the olive oil through the feed tube, processing until nearly smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add pepper to taste.
• Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi and lower the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Cook until the gnocchi float to the top, about 1 minute, then cook for 1 minute longer.
• Whisk a little of the hot pasta water into the pesto to thin it to a sauce consistency. Lift the gnocchi out of the pot with a skimmer or strainer and transfer to a warmed serving bowl. Add the pesto and toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay or another full-bodied white wine.