Sunday Dinner.
A tradition in many cultures. Lots of family, lots of food, lots of fun. We had two out of three, today. Lots of food, lots of fun – but just a little family. Victor’s mom, brother and sister-in-law.
We decided we’d do the Monday Pasta today. Sunday Dinner… Italians… It seemed the right thing to do.
Tonight’s dish was Ricotta Gnocchi. Lighter than their potato cousins, they’re also more flavorful. They work equally well with a red sauce, a cream sauce, or a simple butter sauce.
Ricotta Gnocchi
- 1 lb ricotta cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
- Stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan Cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl until evenly combined. Mix in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-thick ropes on a floured surface. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Boil the gnocchi until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes, then drain.
- Place gnocchi into a serving bowl, and spoon sauce over top.
They are actually pretty easy to make. I’ve made them many times in the past rolling the little gnocchi off the tines of a fork. The gnocchi board really makes it easier, although the fork tines are not difficult by any means.
You definitely want a soft dough to begin with. Work it just enough to get everything mixed together, and although the recipe doesn’t call for it, wrapping it and letting it rest for about 20 minutes or so will help bring it together and allow the flour to absorb the liquids.
And then it just becomes the rolling, cutting, and forming process.
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The recipe makes a goodly amount. We got two sheet pans – one went into the freezer!
I made another loaf of bread, and Marie brought over some great blondie-brownies. And we had some of the Bananas Foster Bread from last night.
We ate really well.
A good time was had by all, the Giants beat the Padres, and life is good!