I've made potato-basil gnocchi before and successfully frozen it but thought I'd try the gnocchi less travelled... gnudi. Gnudi are ricotta-based gnocchi, and are usually made with spinach. However, I forgot to buy spinach and thought I'd use up some of my bumper crop of basil. These are delicate, delicious, and surprisingly easy. The recipe is very forgiving. The basil is intense and wonderful with these little cheese dumplings. I used a mix of both Genovese and Amethyst basil and the results were purple and green! Serve with butter, pesto, or chopped fresh tomatoes, capers and olives as either a main course or a side dish
Ingredients
- basil: 1 pound (stems removed, fresh)
- ricotta cheese: 1 cup
- all-purpose flour: 0.75 cup (divided)
- freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano: 0.5 cup
- egg yolks, lightly: 2 piece (beaten)
- freshly grated nutmeg: 0.25 tsp
- white pepper: 2 tsp (freshly ground)
- sea salt: 2 tsp (to taste)
- lemon: 0.5 piece (juiced, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add basil and cook uncovered until just wilted, about 1 minute. Immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain. Squeeze very dry and finely chop.
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Mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup flour, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, egg yolks, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add basil, white pepper, and salt; mix until gnudi mixture is well-combined.
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Dust your hands with remaining 1/4 cup flour and form gnudi mixture into small balls.
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lemon juice. Boil gnudi in batches until they float to the top of the water, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
