gnocchi di ricotta / ricotta gnocchi

Update: click here to go to a more detailed post on making gnocchi di ricotta

For the first Daring Cooks challenge, esteemed founders Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, of Daring Bakers' fame, have chosen Ricotta Gnocchi, a recipe from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. I have had the good fortune of eating at Zuni Café (in San Francisco) a couple of times and have good memories of those occasions. Thanks to our gracious hosts for a great challenge.

I am thrilled to be part of this new enterprise by Lis and Ivonne, which, if history is any guide, will be wildly successful. Last, but not least, I could not miss a chance to use my homemade ricotta (ricotta fatta in casa). You will find the recipe chosen for this challenge here. A while ago I wrote a post on gnocchi, where I mentioned gnocchi di ricotta: it is about time I made some.

Having just come back from a week vacation and being a bit behind on several fronts prevented me from making cheese and from then making my preferred ricotta using the leftover whey as main ingredient. So, for the task at hand, I used a recipe I had tried in the past, as recounted here, from the book The Home Creamery by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley. From one quart of milk (I used 1% fat this time) and one cup of cultured buttermilk I obtained 9 oz. of ricotta, enough to make half the given recipe, or gnocchi per due (for two). I drained the ricotta for two hours the day I made it, then the morning after I placed it on a piece of cotton cloth a few hours before using it for the task at hand.

To flavor my gnocchi I used a hint of grated lemon zest and a hint of nutmeg (noce moscata). For the sauce, I let the farmers' market decide. This time of the year, each week brings new products to the tables. When I visited it, the first zucchini were available and, with them, the first zucchini blossoms (fiori di zucca): I yielded to the temptation of splurging on a nice bouquet of them to be used promptly. While the gnocchi were resting in the fridge, according to the recipe, I cooked a thinly sliced leek in a pan with olive oil and the leaves of two sprigs of thyme (timo) until quite soft (adding some water, as needed, to keep the leek moist), then added nine zucchini blossoms, washed, stem and stamen removed (they were all male) and cut lengthwise into 4-5 pieces. I let them cook for a couple of minutes, then set aside the pan, covered.

I cooked the gnocchi as directed, 8 at a time (I had 24 total, so I made three batches), keeping the cooked gnocchi in a covered bowl until they were all ready. While the last batch was cooking, I added a tablespoon of the cooking water to 1 oz of ricotta that was left over from what I had made and mixed it into a creamy paste, then added it to the leek and zucchini blossom mixture. I adjusted salt and pepper and then added this to the cooked gnocchi.

The whole enterprise was a lot of fun and a resounding success. While my dish met unqualified approval from the quality assurance department of our household (a.k.a. my husband), my photos of the dish were almost all unfit for showing and hence were deleted. You can barely see what my gnocchi looked like, but you'll have plenty of opportunity to admire the beautiful creations of my fellow Daring Cooks. I will definitely make gnocchi di ricotta again soon. 

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

gnocchi di ricotta

or launch the gnocchi di ricotta  audio file [mp3].

 

Comments

[Giz]

I'm intrigued by the sauce you created. It does sound pretty decent to me.

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

Oh gee Simona - it sounds so wonderful gnocchi with zucchini blossom. Don't really need perfect photos, I can Taste From Your Words.
LL

[Julia]

And how do you know if a zucchini blossom is male or female? And does it matter, from a taste standpoint or otherwise?

I love someone else's gnocchi. I can never cook them satisfactorily. They always turn out gummy. My husband claims he does not like them but I know he just does not like mine.

[Alex]

Buona idea quella di aromatizzare gli gnocchi con un po' di buccia di limone grattugiata. La prossima volta ce la metto anche io. Per me gli gnocchi di ricotta sono stata una piacevolissima scoperta, anche perchè sono talmente veloci nella realizzazione!

[Simona Carini]

Hi Giz and thanks. I used a similar combination to make risotto the day after. I hope to write about it soon.

Thanks Lori Lynn. It's just that I was disappointed at having to delete several photos. The light was not right and the gnocchi needed to be eaten immediately: not a good combination for some satisfactory photography.

Hi Julia. The female blossom has the baby zucchini, while the male blossom has a stalk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucchini). I use both, depending on what is available. For example, I like making risotto with baby zucchini and their blossoms. Let me know what recipe you use for gnocchi (I assume you refer to potato gnocchi). I really liked this recipe (I have already made it three times) and would suggest to give it a try.

Ciao Alex. Visto che eravamo sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda! Anche io sono contenta di averli provati: li ho gia' fatti tre volte in pochi giorni.

[astrofiammante]

siamo ghiotti di gnocchi da queste parti ehh...questi poi sono una bontà e di sicura riuscita, ciao un bacio e buon WE!!

[Baol]

Ciao Simonaaaaaaaa!!!!

Come va la vita? Spero bene
un abbraccio dall'Italia

[Ivy]

That's a great idea to flavour the gnocchi with lemon zest and nutmeg. It sounds delicious.

[Paz]

Delicious!

Paz

[Ivonne]

Oh, Simona! I have wanted to buy The Home Creamery for so long. Do you recommend it? I'm glad you enjoyed the gnocchi. I'll be honest, we weren't as thrilled with them. Baci!

[Simona Carini]

Ebbene si', lo confesso, casa Astro, gli gnocchi mi piace sia farli che mangiarli e questi di ricotta sono delicati e gustosi.

Ciao Baol! Qui tutto bene. Spero anche te. Un abbraccio di ritorno.

Thanks, Ivy. I really liked the result.

Indeed, Paz.

Ciao Ivonne. I have actually made only two recipes from that book: the one for ricotta mentioned above and the one for buttermilk. I am planning to try a more complex recipe soon, like cottage cheese. I loved the gnocchi and so did my husband. I am very grateful for the choice of recipe.