Gnocchi is one of the most beloved Italian dishes and comes in many shapes and forms. The little pasta dumpling has northern Italian origins, but that’s really a misnomer as forms the of the loveable pillows can be found all over the country.
The word gnocchi most likely comes from nocchio, which means knot, or from nocca, which means knuckle – whereby both resemble the look of the plump little bundles of joy on your plate.
Traveling through Italy, you’ll encounter an array of styles. There’s malfatti, hailing from the Lombardy region that comes in doughy balls of spinach and parmigiana. Gnocchetti Sardi is a Sardinian specialty that resembles little inchworms that are colored yellow with saffron. Gnocchi alla Romana, meanwhile are like mini, gooey hockey pucks that are made with semolina flour and baked in the oven. If you head to Tuscany, you’ll discover Gnudi, which are little balls made with ricotta and later fried into golden brown rounds of heaven. And of course, there’s potato gnocchi, which seems to be the most common dish today with origins in northern Italy where potatoes were more readily grown.
No matter which version, and how you prepare it, gnocchi is pure comfort food, and the perfect dish to make when it’s cold, in times of stress, or to simply fill up on something simple.
My personal infatuation with gnocchi comes from classic Italian American red sauce restaurants. Enticed by the unfamiliar name, the little round shapes, and the sizzling red sauces, I grew up dreaming about silky, smooth, fluffy mounds of dough that seem to simply melt with every little bite. My personal favorite is a version of ricotta gnocchi that comes out so soft and so delicate, that you won’t realize you’re consuming your weight in carbs until you’ve housed down an entire plate.
The best part of this ricotta gnocchi is the simplicity in making it. It requires very few ingredients, along with very few steps, and is really hard to mess up. So, if you want to calm your nerves in this incredibly challenging time, make some gnocchi and forget about the world for a brief, sumptuous moment.
Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce by Paul Feinstein
Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole milk ricotta
3 egg yolks
1 cup of 00 flour
.75 cups a finely grated parmigiana
.75 tsp of sea salt
.25 tsp black pepper
1 can San Marzano peeled tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of oregano
.5 cups of fresh basil
1 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
Method:
For the sauce
Finely dice garlic.
Empty entire can of San Marzano tomatoes into a blender and lightly pulse.
Roast garlic in extra virgin olive oil until golden brown.
Add tomato sauce, oregano, and basil to pan and simmer on low heat while you make the gnocchi.
For the Gnocchi:
Squeeze out excess moisture in ricotta using a cheese cloth or patting dry with paper towels.
Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Lightly knead ingredients until they roughly come together.
Lightly flour a workspace.
Divide dough into eight equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a log.
Cut log into half-inch pieces.
Place pieces on lightly floured sheet.
Boil pieces in water and remove when they rise to the top of the pot.
Transfer gnocchi into tomato sauce to finish.