top of page
Search

Back To South Carolina - Ricotta Gnocchi in Tomato Crema

Writer's picture: Terry BuchananTerry Buchanan

One of the dishes I had while in Charleston at FIG was ricotta gnocchi in a light tomato cream sauce. It was absolute heaven - a Chef Mike Lada creation. This is my recreation of the dish.

It’s really simple and I encourage you to give it a try. These gnocchi are much lighter than the potato variety.

Serve them with pesto or a sauce you love, or use the one I’ve included here.


INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce container) whole milk ricotta cheese

3 egg yolks

116 grams (about 1 cup) ‘00’ flour or all-purpose flour*

3/4 cup (about 1 ounce) freshly-grated Parmesan

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper


METHOD

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

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.

Place a large cast iron pan or something equally heavy on top 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.

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 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.

Shape the dough into a round disk with your hands, then transfer it to a lightly-floured cutting board or on top of parchment paper and sprinkle the dough lightly with flour.  Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into eight even pie wedges.

Using your hands, gently roll 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.)

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.

Keep the pasta water handy.

    Serve immediately.

*I highly recommend weighing your flour for accuracy.  But if you are using a measuring cup, just be sure to use the scoop to put the flour into the measuring cup (versus scooping the measuring cup into the flour) to ensure that you don’t accidentally use too much flour.


Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 small shallots, finely chopped

3-6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup tomato paste

3/4 cup cream

1/3 cup Parmesan, finely grated

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste


METHOD

In the oil on medium heat, cook the shallots and garlic until fragrant and the shallot becomes translucent.

Add everything but the cream and heat until well mixed.

Add the cream and gently heat through. If it seems too thick, add some pasta water a little at a time.

Taste. If it seems a little too acidic, add sugar, just a teaspoon at a time, and test.

Place the sauce in the bowl first, then add the gnocchi, topping with more Parmesan if desired.

This is a warm, comforting dish and something your family or friends would love to come back for again and again.



0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Post: Blog2_Post

302-328-6005

©2021 by Playing With Food 

bottom of page