Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi and Roasted Vegetables
This is a shout out to the recipe section of the New York Times. I stumbled across this recipe when I found some ricotta cheese in my fridge. And while traditional gnocchi are rather bland, chewy and a bit of a pain to make, these are soft and pillowy waiting to be enjoyed with some simple roasted vegetables and easy to make. This entire recipe took about 30 minutes to make but taste like something far more complicated. This recipe is also fun to make with extra hands volunteering to role the little gnocchi.
Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi and Roasted Vegetables
Special Note: The trick is adding the right amount of flour. Start with the minimum amount and then test a small ball (about 1/2 tsp of dough) in the boiling water. If it dissolves, you need to add a little more flour. When it holds it’s shape in the boiling water, you’ve got the right mixture.
Also - be careful when adding the wet boiled gnocchi to the hot oilve oil in the skillet. Any water hitting the hot olive oil will splatter a great deal of Hot Olive Oil!
Ingredients:
For Roasted Vegetables
2 pints cherry tomatoes and 6 roma tomatoes, sliced (or any combination of tomatoes diced and or sliced for roasting)
1 large sweet yellow onion, diced into large sections
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
For Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi
salt
One 8oz container ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup of fresh grated parmesan
fresh ground black pepper
about 1/4c to 1/2c flour
1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions:
Roasted Vegetables: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Dice onion and tomatoes.
Add crushed garlic to olive oil in a large bowl. Add diced vegetables and toss to coat with olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt. Toss again to combine.
Spread in a single layer on flat raised edge baking sheet in a single layer.
Place in oven and roast for about 25 minutes (about the same time it takes to make the gnocchi from start to finish)
Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi: Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it.
Combine the ricotta, egg and Parmesan in a large bowl, along with some salt and pepper.
Add about 1/4c flour and stir; add more flour until the mixture forms a very sticky dough.
Scoop out a 1 tsp of dough, roll into a ball and boil it to make certain it hold its shape; if it does not, stir in a bit more flour.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick skillet.
Drop 1 rounded tablespoon of ricotta mixture rolled into a ball into boiling water, working in batches of 6 to 8 at a time in order to not overload the pot.
When the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the skillet. WARNING: Hot water off of the gnocchi will cause the Hot Olive Oil to Splatter!
Keep going until all the gnocchi batter is cooked.
Also watch the skillet, turning the gnocchi in order to lightly crisp on each side.
Serve hot with roasted vegetable mixture.
