Gnocchi
The Daring Bakers have spawned a new sibling - The Daring Cooks. Similar concept, different method. For the first challenge, we attacked ricotta cheese. To be more specific - Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi.
This was chosen as the first challenge, and the recipe comes from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.
Recipe:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi
Forming the gnocchi was similar to making potato or butternut squash gnocchi, but the moisture differences were noticeable. The recipe came together quickly, all in one bowl. I pressed the ricotta, then mixed in the eggs, cheese, butter, nutmeg, and salt. Initially, I tried the larger form that was recommended, but I did not like the amount that you got each bite.
I rolled mine smaller and dusted them with flour. One thing I noticed. If you let them sit for more then ten minutes, they may stick together. If this happens, you will need to reshape them. If they are cooked with exposed edges, they will explode in the water and fall apart.
By themselves in a butter sauce, the cheese and nutmeg shine through. The texture is very moist and reminiscent of ricotta cheese. For dinner, I decided to toss the first ones in an almond pesto, and the second pile in a chicken mole sauce. I think I burnt part of the sauce reduction because the sauce was a little on the bitter side.
Even the small ones were filling. Neither of us finished our dinner.
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Sketchy,
Your recipes and pictures are inspiring and attractive. Can I add your blog to eatingrichmond.com? I don't care if you only post twice a month. It's worth the wait. Lemme know.
I love how you paired the gnocchi with almond pesto and chicken mole, very creative! Also, your gnocchi came out beautiful!
Beutiful work on the gnocchi they look like little clouds of yummmminess1 And almond pesto and chicken mole sounds great and yes they are very filling. Cheers from Audax in Australia
They look absolutely delicious... So interesting how you can turn them into any kind of dish depending on the sauce. You two kinds sound tasty!