Ricotta Gnocchetti Is a Pasta That Is Easy for Everyone to Make
I get recipe inspiration from food blogs and quirky trends on social media, but I especially love studying food magazines from other countries. Can I read all languages? Well, I can read the gist of the food (and a translation app wouldn’t hurt). One of my favorites, La Cucina Italiana, recently included a pasta recipe that I found too simple: three ingredients (one is salt) and no special tools required. I had to try it. It’s called gnocchetti di ricotta and I think I’m in love.
You’re probably familiar with gnocchi (the big brother of gnocchetti), a pecan-sized Italian potato dumpling. Traditional potato gnocchi requires patience in boiling and cooling the potatoes, the use of a rice cooker (a tool that manually pushes the potatoes through small holes to achieve a silky, lump-free consistency) and a small amount of lubricant to shape the dough. While you can also roll out and cut the potato gnocchi into miniature gnocchetti, I was hooked on the overall lightness of these ricotta-based gnocchi.
Pasta night will be easier with these things:
How to make gnocchetti di ricotta
This is a low-effort, high-impact pasta. It goes well with tomato sauce, pesto, cream sauce or a simple pat of salted butter. All you need is full-fat ricotta, all-purpose flour and a pinch of salt.
1. Pat the ricotta dry.
To keep the dough together during cooking, it is important to remove excess water from the cheese. To do this, fold a couple of sheets of paper towels in half and place the ricotta in the center. Fold the ends over the cheese and press gently. After a minute or two, you will feel the moisture dampening the paper towel. Unwrap the package and place the ricotta in a bowl.
2. Knead the dough
Add flour to the bowl. Another benefit of this recipe is that the two main ingredients are an almost perfect 2:1 ratio of ricotta to flour by weight. So no matter how many servings you want to make, you can estimate the numbers using this ratio without adding a little flour, only if the dough is still too sticky. Add a pinch of salt and mix the ingredients until the dough comes together into a ball. It should be sticky but not wet. Leave the dough for 20-30 minutes.
3. Form the gnocchetti.
Once the dough has rested, tear off a golf ball-sized piece of dough and use the palms of your hands to roll it into a log on a cutting board. The dough should be slightly thicker than a #2 pencil. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into three- or half-inch-wide dumplings. Place the dumplings in a bowl with a little semolina or flour to prevent them from sticking. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.
4. Boil and serve.
Shake off any excess semolina and place the gnocchetti in boiling salted water. Let them float to the surface and boil for about three minutes. Drain and toss the mini ricotta dumplings with your favorite sauce. Serve immediately.
These mini pasta pillows are tender, slightly cheesy, and completely filling. I like the smaller size because I can scoop more of them onto my fork and make a bigger piece, but you can always size them larger if you’d like. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve read that raw dough doesn’t keep very well. It’s best to boil all the gnocchetti and store the leftovers in the refrigerator, covered. Be sure to eat them in the next few days.
Easy ricotta gnocchetti recipe
Ingredients:
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½ cup full-fat ricotta cheese
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½ cup all-purpose flour
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½ teaspoon salt
1. Place ricotta cheese on a double layer of paper towel. Wrap the cheese in a paper towel and press gently to remove excess moisture. Unwrap the cheese and add it to the bowl.
2. Add flour and salt to the bowl and mix the ingredients thoroughly. The dough should come together into a ball and be slightly tacky but not sticky. If it is sticky, add another tablespoon of flour. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
3. Add water to the pan and bring it to boil. Divide the dough into small pieces, about five to six pieces. Working one at a time, roll the piece of dough into a ball and then use your palms to roll it out into a long rope. Using a knife, cut the rope crosswise to create small dumplings about half an inch wide. Place the gnocchetti in a bowl with a little semolina or all-purpose flour. Repeat the same with other pieces of dough.
4. Once the water boils, salt it and add the gnocchetti. Let them float to the surface and then cook for about three minutes. Drain the dumplings and serve them with sauce, in soup, or simply with Parmesan and olive oil.