Ricotta Gnocchi

 I was looking for an alternative to potato gnocchi. I had a ricotta version on a recent trip to Melbourne and decided to find a recipe to try out.

It's really fast to make and cooks quickly too.

We prefer a smaller gnocchi. It needs to be cut and put on a well floured board. It can be frozen.

I've been pretty relaxed with the measurements and it still works.

Its great with a tomato based sauce. I've also made it with burnt butter with sage leaves and a garlicky mushroom sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups (425g) whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup high grade flour
• 3/4 cup  freshly grated Parmesan
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

1. Prep the water: Bring a large stockpot of generously-salted water to a boil over high heat.

1. Drain the ricotta: While your water is heating, place 3-4 paper towels on a large plate and spread the ricotta on the paper towels in an even layer.  Place another layer of 3-4 paper towels on top of the ricotta.  Then press down gently to let the excess moisture soak into the paper towels, trying to soak up as much of the excess liquid as possible.  Transfer the ricotta to a large mixing bowl.  (If it sticks to the paper towels, just use a rubber spatula to scrape it off.)  The drained ricotta should now weigh about 12 ounces.


2. Mix your dough ingredients. Add the egg yolks to the ricotta and stir briefly to combine.  Add in the flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper, and stir until 
3. evenly combined.  Avoid over-mixing.  The dough will be a bit moist and maybe a bit sticky, but it should be holding together well.  If it feels too wet, just add in another few tablespoons of flour.
4. Roll out and cut the dough.  Shape the dough into a round disk with your hands, then transfer it to a lightly-floured cutting board and sprinkle the dough with lightly with flour.  Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into eight even pie wedges.  Using your hands, gently roll out each wedge out into an even log, approximately 3/4-inch wide.  Cut each log into individual bite-sized little gnocchi squares.  Lightly dust the gnocchi with flour once more and give them a quick toss so that they are all lightly coated with flour.  (This will help prevent them from sticking together.)
5. Boil the gnocchi. Carefully transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water to cook.  Then once they float — usually after 30 seconds or so — drain the gnocchi.
6. Serve.  Serve immediately, tossed with your favorite sauce and whatever other ingredients sound good!