A few years ago, when I was in NYC for skool, I desperately wanted to go to The Spotted Pig restaurant because I heard about these gnudi. Sadly, I didn’t make it. But I have the recipe (mwa ha ha) and have been dying to try it out. Thanks to some inspiration to whip up some ricotta for sale (with a little left for us!) I am going to try this today.
They take an overnight to set so keep that in mind. And do look up a picture online, they are gorgeous little enriched pasta balls made of fresh ricotta, egg, parmesan, AP flour, rolled in semolina…then flavored with sauteed veg and cream sauce – I’m drooling already. My Earth to Table cookbook pairs them with ramps, morels, and blanched fiddleheads. Foraging is highly recommended…splendid!
This is gratuitous and delicious with extra bread (garlic bread, hmmm?) to dip in the extra creamy sauce and a vinegar-y side salad (to cut the creamy a bit and make you feel healthier – these are scrumptious but not skinny making). They are little dumplings that ooze out cheese like magick.
Spring Gnudi
Serves 4
Gnudi Ingredients:
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup fresh Ricotta Cheese (find at Rock Bottom Homestead!)
2 Lg Eggs + 1 yolk
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp minced fresh chives or wild garlic
Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste
2 cups Semolina Flour (or more to cover if you need, though 2 was more than enough for this batch in a 9 x 13 casserole dish, covered with foil and refrigerated overnight)
To prepare the day before: In a large bowl, combine cheeses, eggs/yolk, and nutmeg. Whisk until smooth and airy. Fold in AP flour and chives. Season to taste with S&P.
With floured hands, roll gnudi into 1″ balls, place in clean bowl or casserole (spread a layer of semolina on bottom of dish first). Cover gnudi balls completely with semolina, cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, bring a large pot of water to a boil (and start your vegetables below). Add gnudi and reduce heat to simmer. Working in batches, poach gnudi until they float to the top, about 3-4 minutes.
Spring Vegetable:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter (or Ghee)
2 cups Mushrooms (local mushroom farms have lovely blue oyster mushrooms this time of year, or even just crimini if you are unable to get the wild goodies), or foraged morels
1 cup chopped Scallions (or shallots), or foraged ramps
1 cup chopped (1-2″) & blanched thin Asparagus (or pea shoots), or other foraged shoots such as fiddleheads, hosta, milkweed, lily)
While boiling gnudi, heat oil and butter in a large skillet. Add vegetables and saute until soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, drain fat if necessary and use pan with juices for next step.
Cream Sauce:
3 cups Whipping/Heavy Cream
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
a pinch of Nutmeg, and S&P to taste
Add cream to pan juices in skillet and heat over high, cooking until reduced by half (about 5 minutes). Turn off heat and stir in Parmesan until well combined.
To Serve: Divide gnudi evenly among 6 bowls, top with cream sauce, then vegetables.
Sounds amazing…I’ll be setting up mine shortly…
Rock Bottom Homestead 