Who said that gnocchi is only for potatoes? I certainly thought this was the case until a couple years ago when I stumbled across homemade ricotta gnocchi. It’s light, quick, easy to make, and goes perfectly with a simple tomato sauce. My life has never been the same since…
This recipe is so simple, and you can easily double the recipe to flash freeze half for an even quicker and easier meal next time. I personally love to make this with homemade goats milk ricotta, but obviously you can make this with store bought or cows milk ricotta!
The thing that’s great about ricotta versus potato gnocchi is that it doesn’t get gummy or overworked as easily as its potato counterpart due to the high protein content in the cheese. It stays tender even if you overwork the dough a bit. Think cheesy little pillows dancing on your tongue, it’s delicious! You don’t need a ricer or food mill, so it’s less steps, less dishes, and comes together quicker!
The one thing that you need to be aware of in this recipe is the amount of liquid retained in your ricotta. When making the dough, the ricotta should be quite dry. I will usually let mine hang in cheesecloth for hours and then smear it between paper towels patting it dry if it isn’t quite dry enough by the time I’m ready to make it. If you use store bought, you can drain it through a fine mesh colander and do the same paper towel method. You want the cheese to maintain some moisture, but it should no means be wet. How wet it is will determine how much flour you end up using which is why there is a range!
Some methods call for making the gnocchi’s by turning a ziploc bag into a piping bag. I prefer to use the method where you roll out the dough into logs and cut the gnocchis, which is what I explain below. This is a very basic recipe that you can find with a simple google search. But, I have made some minor tweaks in the dough as well as the process that I feel make it easier and better!
The Recipe
- 1 pound (2 cups) ricotta cheese drained of liquid
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
- 2-3T finely miced herb of your choice (I like parsley or basil!)
- 3/4-1 cup flour, plus more for dusting work bench
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Make your ricotta cheese and strain it to desired dryness, or prep store bought as described above. Whatever you’re doing with the drained off whey, make sure you reserve some in case you need to add it back into the dough.
- Combine ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt, pepper, and minced herb until thoroughly mixed. Slowly add flour, gently folding in with rubber spatula trying not to overwork it (this is very forgiving unlike potato gnocchi if you do!) The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky and messy. Add more flour if needed (means your ricotta was wet) or, add reserved whey if needed to get desired consistency (your ricotta was dry!).
- Turn out dough ball onto the counter and give it a few kneads until it comes together and forms a nice ball. It should not be messy and sticking like crazy to your counter, but not crumbly or dry.
- Wrap in saran wrap and let rest for at least a half hour in the fridge, I prefer an hour. This will make rolling out the rope shaped pieces easier.
- Using a bench scraper cut the ball into fourths and then fourths again, giving eight small pie wedge shaped pieces.
- Take a wedge of dough and roll between your hands creating a rough log like shape, then roll out on the countertop creating a long rope. Flour the counter if needed to prevent sticking. I try to shoot for 1/2″ diameter size, but the most important part is making sure they’re all the same size so they cook consistently!
7. Once you have a rope that’s approximately 1/2″ inch in diameter, use your bench scraper to cut it into little gnocchi’s. Again, this is kind of personal choice as to size, I just eye ball it and make my way down the log trying to keep them around 3/4″ish in size. Just try to keep it consistent for cooking purposes!
8. Repeat the same process for the rest of the wedges. Either cook immediately in salted boiling water or put on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, dust with flour to prevent sticking, and stick in the freezer to flash freeze and cook later.
9. When cooking, the water should be a light boil (these cook very fast fresh) not a rolling vigorous one. The gnocchi are delicate, and an aggressive boil will potentially cause them to break up or make them tough. The gnocchi are cooked when they float to the top. Scoop out with a spider and enjoy with your choice of sauce!
These homemade ricotta gnocchi’s are one of my favorite meals to make, especially during the summer! I have fresh milk to make the ricotta, I have a doomsday preppers supply of canned tomato sauce from our heirloom tomatoes, and freezers chalked full of meat to pair it with. Making this is one of my favorite ways to use up the goats milk when I am getting a fridge full, so that I can freeze a bunch of it and have it on hand for meals. It’s just a nice easy and light meal that gets dinner quickly on the table after a long busy day.
