Ricotta gnocchi are even quicker to make than potato gnocchi! Here I`ve used buffalo milk ricotta, but cow milk will work well also. You can be creative with the brown butter and use whatever herbs and seasonings you like, just make sure to add soft herbs right before serving. Lemon zest will be just as delicious as orange, and sage can be swapped with rosemary or a little bit of thyme.
Ingredients
- 60 g parmesan
- 250 g ricotta
- 2 x eggs
- 2 ½ dl wheat flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 handful walnuts
- 1 handful olives
- 80 g butter
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 handful fresh sage
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 x organic orange
- 1 pinch chili flakes
Method
- Grate the parmesan finely and separate unto two bowls.
- Use a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as possible from the ricotta.
- Mix together ricotta, eggs, olive oil, half of the parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl. Knead in flour until you have a dough that is easy to handle. It`s a good idea to make a test to see if you are happy with the seasoning.
- Roll the dough into long snakes on a surface with flour. Cut the "snakes" into smaller gnocchis and shape them as you would like. I just rolled them into balls. Boil them in well salted water for about 2-3 minutes. Keep them on a plate dressed with a little olive oil until they are ready to be served.
- Chop the walnuts roughly.
- Finely slice the olives. I had green ones, but all types will work well.
- Toast the walnuts in a pan until they start to catch colour. Decrease the heat melt the butter in the same pan (the nuts can stay). Let it simmer on medium heat until it starts to change colour, becoming lovely and golden. Add the garlic clove (just crush it a bit under the side of a knife) and some whole sage leaves. Let simmer on low heat until the leaves are crispy. Stir in the finely sliced olives, a little salt, freshly grated nutmeg, and some orange zest (as much as you would like)
- Add the gnocchi to the pan and mix with the butter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with chili flakes, the rest of the parmesan and more orange zest before serving.
