THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Ricotta and Spinach Gnocchi with Tomato and Olive Sauce
By THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
Preparation
0 MINS
Cooking
0 MINS
A far simpler alternative to regular potato gnocchi, learn the secrets to making perfect gnocchi on our video page!
Ingredients
250g packet frozen finely chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry500g wedge fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4- 1 cup plain flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tomato Sauce and Olive Sauce
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil4 cloves garlic, crushed
750g chopped fresh ripe tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
salt and freshly ground black pepper
grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Handy Tips
It is handy to test cooking a small ball of the gnocchi mixture before rolling them all out. If it starts to crumble in the water add a little more flour to the mixture.
The key to this gnocchi is to add as little flour as possible. The amount of flour required will depend on the moisture in the ricotta and spinach. Look for a moist dough that doesn't stick to your hands excessively.
Use fresh ricotta cut from the wedge at the deli for this recipe. If you use smooth ricotta from the tub, the mixture will require significantly more flour.
Gnocchi will keep uncooked, lightly floured in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Method
- Mix spinach, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, flour and seasonings in a large bowl until a moist, but not sticky dough forms. if the mixture is very sticky, add extra flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured bench and divide into 4 portions. Roll each portion into a long log approximately 2-3cm thick. Using a floured butter knife cut logs into 2cm lengths.
- Refrigerate on floured plates until ready to cook.
- For the sauce, heat olive oil in a large heavy based frypan over high heat, add garlic and tomatoes and bubble rapidly for 5 minutes, add parsley and olives, season to taste and cook rapidly for a further 5 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Cook gnocchi in batches in a large pot of salted boiling water, until gnocchi floats to top(approximately 5 minutes), remove with a slotted spoon and drop into the sauce.
- Toss gnocchi through the sauce, spoon into bowls and serve with parmesan.
