Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with Tomato-Butter Sauce
By Lan LamPublished on December 6, 2020
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish
Ingredients
Gnudi
12 ounces (340 grams) (1½ cups) whole-milk ricotta cheese ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 ounce (28 grams) Parmesan cheese, grated (1⁄2 cup), plus extra for garnishing1 tablespoon panko bread crumbs ¾ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking gnudi½ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest 10 ounces (283 grams) frozen whole-leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry2 large egg whites, lightly beatenSauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin12 ounces (340 grams) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved2 teaspoons cider vinegar ¼ teaspoon table salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons shredded fresh basilBefore You Begin
Ricotta without stabilizers such as locust bean, guar, and xanthan gums drains more readily. You can substitute part-skim ricotta for the whole-milk ricotta. Frozen whole-leaf spinach is easiest to squeeze dry, but frozen chopped spinach will work. Squeezing the spinach should remove ½ to ⅔ cup of liquid; you should have ⅔ cup of finely chopped spinach. Our tomato-butter sauce isn't strictly canonical; if you'd prefer a more traditional accompaniment, substitute our Simple Tomato Sauce or browned butter and fresh sage. Serve with a simple salad.
Instructions
- Line rimmed baking sheet with double layer of paper towels. Spread ricotta in even layer over towels; set aside and let sit for 10 minutes. Place flour, Parmesan, panko, salt, pepper, and lemon zest in large bowl and stir to combine. Process spinach in food processor until finely chopped, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer spinach to bowl with flour mixture. Grasp paper towels and fold ricotta in half; peel back towels. Rotate sheet 90 degrees and repeat folding and peeling 2 more times to consolidate ricotta into smaller mass. Using paper towels as sling, transfer ricotta to bowl with spinach mixture. Discard paper towels but do not wash sheet. Add egg whites to bowl and mix gently until well combined.
- Transfer heaping teaspoons of dough to now-empty sheet (you should have 45 to 50 portions). Using your dry hands, gently roll each portion into 1-inch ball.
- Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, swirling saucepan occasionally, until butter is very foamy and garlic is pale golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, add tomatoes and vinegar; cover and set aside.
- Bring 1 quart water to boil in Dutch oven. Add 1½ teaspoons salt. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer all gnudi to water. Return water to gentle simmer. Cook, adjusting heat to maintain gentle simmer, for 5 minutes, starting timer once water has returned to simmer (to confirm doneness, cut 1 dumpling in half; center should be firm).
- While gnudi simmer, add salt and pepper to sauce and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are warmed through and slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Divide sauce evenly among 4 bowls. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, remove gnudi from pot, drain well, and transfer to bowls with sauce. Garnish with basil and extra Parmesan. Serve immediately.
for the gnudi
for the sauce
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dishIngredients
Gnudi
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Gnudi
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Gnudi
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Pillowy, verdant, milky-rich gnudi are Italian dumplings cobbled together from ricotta and greens (usually fresh spinach or chard), delicately seasoned, and bound with egg and flour and/or bread crumbs. The trick to making them well is water management: Both the cheese and the greens are loaded with moisture, much of which needs to be either removed or bound up lest the dough be too difficult to handle or require so much binder that the dumplings are leaden instead of light. We found that “towel-drying” the ricotta on a paper towel–lined rimmed baking sheet efficiently drained the cheese in just 10 minutes (as opposed to draining the cheese in a fine-mesh strainer for several hours or even overnight, as some recipes suggest). Instead of blanching fresh spinach to break down its cells and release its water, we used frozen spinach, which readily gives up its water when it thaws; all we had to do was squeeze it dry. A combination of protein-rich egg whites, flour, and panko bread crumbs (which lightened the mixture because they broke up the structure and made it heterogeneous) bound the mixture into a light, tender dough that we scooped and rolled into rounds and then gently poached in salted water. Taking inspiration from both traditional sauces—bright tomato sugo and rich browned butter—we made a hybrid accompaniment by toasting garlic in browning butter and adding halved fresh cherry tomatoes, which collapsed and spilled their bright juices into the rich backdrop.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Ricotta without stabilizers such as locust bean, guar, and xanthan gums drains more readily. You can substitute part-skim ricotta for the whole-milk ricotta. Frozen whole-leaf spinach is easiest to squeeze dry, but frozen chopped spinach will work. Squeezing the spinach should remove ½ to ⅔ cup of liquid; you should have ⅔ cup of finely chopped spinach. Our tomato-butter sauce isn't strictly canonical; if you'd prefer a more traditional accompaniment, substitute our Simple Tomato Sauce or browned butter and fresh sage. Serve with a simple salad.
Instructions
- Line rimmed baking sheet with double layer of paper towels. Spread ricotta in even layer over towels; set aside and let sit for 10 minutes. Place flour, Parmesan, panko, salt, pepper, and lemon zest in large bowl and stir to combine. Process spinach in food processor until finely chopped, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer spinach to bowl with flour mixture. Grasp paper towels and fold ricotta in half; peel back towels. Rotate sheet 90 degrees and repeat folding and peeling 2 more times to consolidate ricotta into smaller mass. Using paper towels as sling, transfer ricotta to bowl with spinach mixture. Discard paper towels but do not wash sheet. Add egg whites to bowl and mix gently until well combined.
- Transfer heaping teaspoons of dough to now-empty sheet (you should have 45 to 50 portions). Using your dry hands, gently roll each portion into 1-inch ball.
- Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, swirling saucepan occasionally, until butter is very foamy and garlic is pale golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, add tomatoes and vinegar; cover and set aside.
- Bring 1 quart water to boil in Dutch oven. Add 1½ teaspoons salt. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer all gnudi to water. Return water to gentle simmer. Cook, adjusting heat to maintain gentle simmer, for 5 minutes, starting timer once water has returned to simmer (to confirm doneness, cut 1 dumpling in half; center should be firm).
- While gnudi simmer, add salt and pepper to sauce and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are warmed through and slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Divide sauce evenly among 4 bowls. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, remove gnudi from pot, drain well, and transfer to bowls with sauce. Garnish with basil and extra Parmesan. Serve immediately.
for the gnudi
for the sauce
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