Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

See, I like gnocchi. I like a plate of warm potato dumplings knocking around a bowl of pesto. I like the comfy, sleepy feeling after such a meal. But it's really a once a year hankering or so-- because I really do get sleepy after such consumption. Gnocchi is a big meal. That's if it's the traditional potato gnocchi. But, if you mix it up by making some homemade ricotta gnocchi with some fresh ricotta you just made, that's a whole new ballgame. This is the sort of dish I could eat weekly. And for a while, we were.

Ricotta gnocchi, a traditional Florentine pasta, is as soft as a cloud and heavenly to eat. We have taken to making a simple red sauce, adapted from the same source as the gnocchi recipe, that with the addition of some finishing capers, is the perfect blend of sweet/acid to play off the tender gnocchi.

Both recipes are from the Kitchn, of which I've blogged before. A great resource if you have somehow managed to miss the whole Apartment Therapy enterprise. The gnocchi is made all the more spectacular by taking the extra (and quite easy) step of making your own "ricotta". I use the suggestive quotation marks here because purists will surely object to the fact that the cheese I make is really more of a Farmer's Cheese, not true ricotta. Real ricotta is made by recooking whey - which is easily done after making a batch of mozarella. I haven't made mozz in a little while, but when I do, I will make the real deal ricotta. But until then, my simple recipe for "ricotta" works with no adverse effects.

Homemade "Ricotta"

1 Gallon Whole Milk (Pasteurized, but NOT Ultra-Pasteurized)
1 Quart Buttermilk

Mix the two milks together in a large, heavy bottomed pot.
Heat gently until it reaches approx 180 degrees F. It is easiest to do this with a candy thermometer, but is doable without.


As it reaches 180, the curds (the thicker white part) will seperate from the whey (the thin, cloudy water underneath).
Scoop out the curds and place in a colander that has been filled with several layers of cheese cloth (or even old, clean pantyhose).

After scooping all the curds into the cloth, pull the edges together to make a pouch and secure the top. Don't squeeze the liquid out, but let it hang and drain. I usually attach it to the kitchen sink faucet and let it drain right into the sink.
Drain for about 30 minutes then store in an airtight container in the fridge.


We usually use it up pretty quickly, but it will last for several days.

In addition to the gnocchi, you can use the "ricotta" in pancakes, salads, blintzes, or, as we found, spread on homemade rye bread with lemon curd - oddly decadent and delicious.

Ricotta Gnocchi
Adapted from the Kitchn
Serves 4

2 cups fresh "ricotta"
1 large egg
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 - 1 cup flour

If you are using store bought ricotta: set a strainer line with three coffee filters or paper towels over a bowl. Add the ricotta and let the cheese drain for about an hour. (This can be done several days in advance.)

In a large bowl, mix the fresh, or strained ricotta, egg, cheese, and 3/4 cup of the flour until all ingredients are incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Check the dough by rolling a bit in your hand. It should be a bit tacky. If it clings to your fingers like bubble gum, incorporate more flour one tablespoon at a time until you reach a tacky, workable consistency. Refrigerate for another 15 minutes.

Before shaping, put a large pot of water on the stove to bring to a boil. Sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and set it close to your work space - or just prep a counter space if you have it near the stove.

Sprinkle your hands and work surface with a little flour. Break off a tennis-ball sized piece of the dough and roll it into a thick log about 3/4-inch thick.

Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the log into 3/4" pieces. You can leave them as little 'pillows' or shape them into the traditional grooved gnocchi by rolling them off the back of a fork with your thumb.

Transfer this batch to the baking sheet and toss with flour to prevent sticking. Repeat rolling process with the remaining dough.

Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and half of the gnocchi. Gently stir the gnocchi to make sure they don't stick. Once they bob to the surface, let them cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander set over a bowl to finish draining.

Repeat with second batch of gnocchi.

Toss the gnocchi with sauce and serve immediately.

As mentioned, this dish does in fact pair perfectly with the simple red sauce suggested by the Kitchn. We've made a few changes over time that I think are good additions. It is easy to make ahead of time and reheat in a sauce pan while the gnocchi cooks, making this a relatively quick last minute action meal.

Basic Tomato Sauce
Makes 2 cups, enough for 4 modest portions

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can whole or chopped tomatoes, with juices
pinch (or 1/4 teaspoon if you like it hot) dried red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel (about 1/2 lemon)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley or shredded fresh basil
1 tablespoon capers
coarse salt
freshly grated black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add the red pepper flakes and lemon peel then lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, taking some time to smash the tomato pieces so the sauce is more pulpy than chunky. Stir in the chopped parsley and capers. Check for flavor and season appropriately with salt and pepper.

Sauce will keep one week, in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

We really can't recommend this dish enough. It's easy, really fun to make, and insanely delicious. R granted it "instant staple" status and we're sure to add it to the regular rotation.

Fridge-Clearing Potato and White Bean Pasta

Towards the end of the week I often run out of ideas for what to make for dinner. I am trying to get better about not overstuffing the fridge and tossing food we don't eat, so I look for dishes I can put together that will use up a bunch of what we have around. This meal was one of our recent fridge-clearing experiments, but it turned out so good, it was declared an instant winner.

I had some yukon golds, a few bell pepper halves, green onions, and one carrot in the veggie crisper and a few meyer lemons on the counter. I always have a few types of pasta and usually a can or two of several types of beans in the cupboard. The whole meal came together quickly and was fresh and delicious. The vegetables and quantities can vary depending on what you have, but the white beans and potatoes make this dish special. We served it with some broccoli that was quickly blanched, put in an ice bath to stop the cooking, and then dressed with salt, pepper, toasted bread crumbs, and a squeeze of meyer lemon.

Fridge-Clearing Potato and Bean Pasta


3-4 medium yukon gold (or red) potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 Cup chopped onion (white, yellow, red, or any mix thereof)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 Cup chopped bell pepper (green, red, yellow, or any mix thereof)
1 Carrot, chopped
1 14.5 oz can white beans
1 14.5 oz can of broth (chicken, or veggie, or ideally homemade, but the can works fine)
1 lb. + favorite pasta shape (something smallish)
1 or 2 meyer lemons
grated pecorino or good parmesan
salt and pepper to taste


In a pot large enough to cook the pasta, parboil potatoes in a lot of salted boiling water till softened, but not cooked through (about 8 min.).

In a large saute pan, saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until they turn translucent and start to brown slightly (5-10 min.).

Drain potatoes with a slotted spoon and add to the onions with the garlic and saute for several minutes.

Add pasta to the water you cooked the potatoes in, and cook according to package directions.

Add peppers and carrots to onions and potatoes and saute for 5-10 minutes to let veggies soften and cook. Season with salt and pepper.

Add beans and broth to veggies, cover, and simmer.

When pasta is done (and drained) and sauce has cooked down slightly, toss veggie and pasta together.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Squeeze a few halves of meyer lemon over the pasta and serve with pecorino.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pasta - A Pathetic Attempt at Parpadelle

For about 10 years I was a vegetarian. However, since I have never liked mushrooms, eggplant, or avocado (aka the holy trinity of vegetarianism) I often referred to myself as a carbohydratarian (which naturally preceeded the creation of this blog--carb loading without remorse). Although I now eat meat again (in limited quantity), I have also expanded my cooking/baking of carbs - hence the bread blog. Most of my time spent with dough is of the yeasted kind. For the amount of pasta we consume, before this week I'd never actually made my own. So I thought I would give it a shot. Let's just say that we need some more work.


I made a basic dough; flour, semolina, salt, olive oil, and eggs, and I cranked it through my atlas pasta machine that has been languishing in the bottom of the cupboard (even through two moves). I blame the machine for most of my frustrations. Because our counter has a deep bull nose lip and a wood molding, the machine wouldn't latch onto the edge of the counter. I was forced to clamp it to a wooden cutting board that was cantilevered off the counter at a precarious angle and was prone to sliding all over the place. This of course made it more difficult to handle the dough as it was rolled through progressively smaller passes. I also blame myself for thinking I need to work hard at keeping really long strips of dough intact. Add to that the fact that I probably should have stopped at one notch before the smallest setting, and I ended up with 10 foot long strips of translucent dough that was difficult and delicate to handle for a novice. I also didn't flour it well enough or let it dry long enough before cutting, so all of my thin layers of pasta fused together and were difficult to separate when dumping into the boiling water.

Lessons learned (assisted by a random catching of Molto Mario - on a channel that Dish is giving us free this month - where Mario Batali made homemade pasta. He used more flour, rolled not as thin, and when the sheets of pasta got too long, he just cut them into more manageable pieces, because seriously, does anyone want a 12 foot long piece of spaghetti?) I certainly plan to give this another go when I have enough time to wrangle the pasta-machine-on-cutting-board setup.


In an attempt to highlight the pasta itself, I made a simple sauce: saute thinly cut onion (or shallot) and garlic in butter and olive oil, add frozen or fresh peas, cook through, add a handful of fresh basil, toss gently with pasta and cover with parmesan/pecorino. If it's too dry you can add a bit of reserved pasta water.

Grilled Bread

I finally made another batch of bread dough. Semolina this time because I didn't have any unbleached ap flour in the house (I know, how does one let these things happen?). We had Steve and Erica over for dinner so I wanted to try a little grilled bread for an appetizer. I took a few small pieces of dough, spread it out on a Silpat with a bunch of olive oil, sprinkled a few herbs and sea salt on the bread and plopped it down on a medium-hot grill. Close the lid, and flip it over in a few minutes. You can of course cover it with some precooked toppings, sauce and a little cheese and make quick and easy grilled pizzas. But tonight instead, I made a new pasta dish from a site I like a lot. The Velvety Broccoli and Feta Pasta was pretty good - broccoli, feta, lemon, parsley - what's not to like? We served it all with a good salad and a nice citrus-honey viniagrette. All in all a good meal, and of course great company!