Jessie, NW

That stands for “Jessie, Non-Wasteroo“.

Welcome to Ricotta Week on THIH! After my inadvertent bulk purchase of ricotta last week, I vowed to not waste this versatile ingredient. This week, I’ll be featuring recipes that have ricotta as a starring ingredient — despite the fact that I have very little experience cooking with ricotta. All for YOU, dear reader 🙂

… and for me, I suppose. The last thing I need is people pointing at me and crowing about Jessie, the wasteroo dietitian.

First up: Herbed Ricotta Gnocchi. Having never made gnocchi before, I studied a bunch of recipes and came up with the one below. I was very pleased with the results, although in the future I would make two changes:

(1) I made the gnocchi about the size of ping-pong balls, which is too large. Next time, I’ll pinch off pieces of dough the size of large marbles. That way, the gnocchi will be easier to eat and not as doughy. If you do this, you may need to reduce the cooking time to 1 minute.

(2) I used all-purpose flour in this recipe as a kind of “template” flour. In the future, I’d like to experiment with whole grain flours and gluten-free blends. I picked up a few gluten free grains this past weekend that I can’t wait to try.

Herbed Ricotta Gnocchi

  Prep Time: 10 minutes

  Cook Time: 2 minutes

  Keywords: boil side entree appetizer low-sodium vegetarian

Ingredients (5 servings)

  • 1-8 ounce container ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried herb of choice (I used thyme, but basil, oregano, or rosemary would also work well)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed

Instructions

Stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan Cheese, pepper, salt, garlic powder, and herb(s) in a bowl. Mix in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.

You can make the gnocchi one of two ways:

(1) Divide the dough into 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.

(2) Pinch off marble-sized pieces of dough and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. This gives the gnocchi a more “rustic” look.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Boil the gnocchi until they float to the surface (about 1 to 2 minutes). Drain. Serve hot with your favorite sauce.

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Q: What’s your favorite way to prepare/eat ricotta?

6 Comments

  1. I have never made gnocchi from scratch!
    I love that you added ricotta! Delicious!
    I have to admit, growing up I would just put a dollop of ricotta right on my pasta! It was a treat when my mom would buy ricotta cheese. 🙂

  2. Your gnocchi looks fancy 🙂

    I seem to recall my mum making ricotta pancakes but it was so long ago I can’t really remember what they tasted like.

    Looking forward to seeing what other fancy things you come up with 😉

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