Best Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi With Fresh Herbs Recipes

RICOTTA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• 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.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in diced tomatoes and red pepper flakes; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in shredded basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 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.
• To assemble the dish, stir the cubed mozzarella cheese into the sauce and allow the heat of the sauce to soften, but not melt the cheese. Place gnocchi into a serving bowl, and spoon sauce overtop.

HOMEMADE GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a large saucepan over medium heat with enough water to cover by an inch. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender all the way through when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes. Drain.
• When the potatoes are still hot but you are able to handle them, peel off the skins with a paring knife and press the warm potatoes through a ricer in a flat layer on a working surface. Let cool completely.
• Once the potatoes are cool, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Drizzle the beaten egg over the potatoes. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the flour and use your hands (or preferably a bench scraper, if you have one) to mix and knead the dough together. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more flour as needed until the dough holds together and is only slightly sticky. (A good way to tell if the dough is the right texture is to cut the dough ball in half--the interior should look like cookie dough peppered with small holes throughout.)
• To form the gnocchi, break off a piece of dough and roll into a log about 3/4 inch thick, keeping your hands and counter well floured as you work. Cut crosswise into 3/4-inch segments. Give each piece a quick single roll between your palms to round them slightly. Roll each piece off the back of the floured tines of a fork, pressing with your thumb as you roll down to make a small indentation on one side and ridges from the fork on the other side. Place on a floured baking sheet.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Boil the gnocchi until cooked, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and serve tossed in a sauce of your choosing. Garnish with Parmesan and basil.

RICOTTA CHEESE GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Combine the ricotta, eggs and Parmesan in a large bowl, along with some salt and pepper. Add about 1/2 cup flour and stir; add more flour until the mixture forms a very sticky dough. Scoop up a spoonful of dough and boil it to make sure it will hold its shape; if it does not, stir in a bit more flour.
• Put the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When it melts and turns a nutty brown color, add the sage. While it fries, drop the ricotta mixture by the rounded tablespoon into the boiling water, working in batches of six or so at a time so as not to overload the pot.
• When the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the skillet. When all the gnocchi are done, toss, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve immediately.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Place the ricotta in a large bowl and stir in the Parmesan, egg, parsley, thyme, tarragon and salt and pepper. Stir in the flour. Begin to knead the mixture in the bowl with your hands until it holds together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, with lightly floured hands, gently knead the dough until smooth and well blended, working in more flour if it is too sticky.
• Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll 1 piece out to a rope about 1/2an inch in diameter. Using a knife, cut the rope into 3/4-inch segments. Hold a fork upright on your work surface with the tines curved toward you. Gently roll 1 segment of dough against the tines to mark it lightly with ridges. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet and repeat until all the dough is used. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook. The gnocchi will keep, refrigerated, for 1 day.
• To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot 1/4 full of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and stir once very gently. Cook until the gnocchi float, then for 1 minute more (about 4 minutes total). Immediately drain, toss with olive oil and serve as desired.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH FRESH PEAS AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Process ricotta, eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a food processor until smooth. Add flour and blend until a smooth, semi-stiff batter forms. Transfer gnocchi batter to a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms in hot oil until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add vegetable broth, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer; stir in peas. Cook until peas are soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil.
• Working in batches, drop spoonfuls of ricotta batter into boiling water. Bring water back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove gnocchi to ice water to stop the cooking process, then drain and reserve. Repeat with remaining batter.
• Combine gnocchi and mushroom sauce in a saucepan and cook until heated through, 2 to 5 minutes.

HERB GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Set up a heavy-duty mixer with the paddle attachment. Have all the ingredients ready before you begin cooking.
• Combine the water, butter, and the 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour all at once, and stir rapidly with a stiff heatproof or wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean, with no dough sticking to it. The dough should be glossy and smooth but still moist.
• Enough moisture must evaporate from the dough to allow it to absorb more fat when the eggs are added: Continue to stir for about 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent the dough from coloring. A thin coating will form on the bottom and sides of the pan. When enough moisture has evaporated, steam will rise from the dough and the aroma of cooked flour will be noticeable. Immediately transfer the dough to the mixer bowl. Add the mustard, herbs, and the 1 tablespoon salt. Mix for a few seconds to incorporate the ingredients and release some of the heat, then add the cheese. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one. Increase the speed to medium and add another 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. Turn off the machine. Lift some of the dough on a rubber spatula, then turn the spatula to let it run off: It should move down the spatula very slowly; if it doesn't move at all or is very dry and just falls off in a clump, beat in the additional egg.
• Place the dough in a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip and let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. (If you have only a small pastry bag, fill it with half the dough two times.) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a simmer. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Because this recipe makes such a large quantity of gnocchi, your arm may get tired: An easy way to pipe the gnocchi is to place a large inverted pot, canister, or other container that is slightly higher than the pot on the right side of the pot (left side if you are left-handed) and set the filled pastry bag on it so that the tip extends over the side and the container serves as a resting place for the bag. Twist the end of the pastry bag to push the dough into the tip. (From time to time, as the bag empties, you will need to twist the end again.) As you squeeze the back of the bag with your right hand, hold a small knife in your left hand and cut off 1-inch lengths of dough, allowing the gnocchi to drop into the pot. Pipe about 24 gnocchi per batch. First, the gnocchi will sink in the pot. Keep the water temperature hot, but do not boil. Once the gnocchi float to the top, poach them for another 1 to 2 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon or skimmer and drain on the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Taste one to test the timing; it may still seem slightly undercooked in the center, but it will be cooked again. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• When all the gnocchi have drained, place them in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to a day. Or, for longer storage, place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once the gnocchi have frozen solid, remove them from the baking sheet and place in a freezer bag in the freezer. Before using frozen gnocchi, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and defrost in the refrigerator for several hours.