Ricotta Gnocchi With Simple Tomato Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until flavors are blended, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, for gnocchi, in a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper until blended. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough that holds its shape., In a Dutch oven, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Divide dough into eight portions. Roll each into a 1/2-in.-thick rope; cut crosswise into 3/4-in. pieces., Cook gnocchi in batches in boiling water 2-3 minutes or until they float; remove with a slotted spoon. Drain well. Add gnocchi to sauce; gently stir in mozzarella cheese. If desired, sprinkle with basil.

Steps:

• Unwrap the ricotta cheese from the cheesecloth; the texture should be pretty dry and crumbly. If it is really dry (this is good) pass it through the food mill with the biggest holes. Put the cheese into a large bowl.
• Finely chop the squeezed spinach and add it to the ricotta. Add the eggs, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and nutmeg. Mix until well combined. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Add in 1/4 cup of flour. If the mixture is still very wet, add in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.
• Dust a sheet tray generously with flour. Coat another sheet tray generously with semolina flour. Fill a pastry bag with the ricotta/spinach mixture. Pipe 1 1/2-inch balls of the cheese mixture onto the all-purpose flour lined tray. Shake the tray around to coat the balls in flour. Roll each flour coated cheese piece around in your hand to form a ball. Do this gently so as to not squish the cheese balls. Arrange them on the semolina lined tray.
• Bring a saucepan full of water to a boil over medium heat. Set up a bowl of ice water. In the bottom of each tomato cut an "X" in the skin. Working in batches, put the tomatoes in the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds ONLY! Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and put them immediately into the ice water. When the tomatoes have cooled, remove them from the ice water and the skin should come off very easily.
• Remove the stems and seeds from the tomatoes; coarsely chop the tomatoes and reserve.
• Coat a large straight-sided saute pan, over medium-high heat, with olive oil. Add the onions, season with salt, to taste. Toss in the crushed red pepper and cook the onions until they are soft and aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and season with salt, to taste. Bring the tomato mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
• Toss in the basil just before serving.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat until the water is at a simmer. Carefully add the gnocchi to the simmering water. Cook until the gnocchi float and have begun to swell, 3 to 5 minutes.
• On individual serving plates, spoon some sauce on each plate and spread it out until it becomes a 4 to 5-inch circle.
• Using a spider or long handled mesh strainer, carefully remove the gnocchi from the cooking water, blot on a tea towel and arrange 5 gnocchi on each circle of sauce. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

Steps:

• 1. To prepare the gnocchi, gently mix the cheese, egg yolks, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl until blended.
• 2. Using your hands, fold the flour gradually into the cheese mixture. You may need more or less flour, depending on how well the cheese was drained. Work the dough until it forms a loose ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into a long rope about 3/4 inch in diameter. Lightly dust each rope with flour to prevent sticking when you cut them into gnocchi.
• 3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch-long pieces and transfer each piece to the baking sheet.
• 4. You may choose to leave the gnocchi in these pieces or go one step further by rolling each piece into a ball. Use your thumb, the back of a fork, or a small gnocchi paddle to make grooves on 1 side of the balls and a small indentation on the other.
• 5.Transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for up to 24 hours. (Do not cover with a damp cloth or the gnocchi will soften.) After the gnocchi dry for 24 hours in the refrigerator, they can be transferred to a rigid plastic container and frozen for up to 1 week. Let them thaw before cooking.
• 6. Fill a large saucepan with lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Gently drop the gnocchi into the water and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the gnocchi bob to the surface. When they do, cook for 1 minute longer and then drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
• 7. To prepare the tomato sauce, heat the tomatoes over medium-high heat. Thin or loosen with a little pasta water. Stir in 1/2 cup of olive oil and the butter until the butter is incorporated. Toss the gnocchi with the tomato sauce. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 8. Divide the gnocchi among 4 serving plates and drizzle with olive oil.
• Note:

Steps:

• Preheat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. In batches, add the mushrooms in a single layer and cook until the moisture releases, 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Flip the mushrooms and add a drizzle of olive oil and continue cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Remove the final batch of mushrooms from the pan and add the guanciale and a drizzle of olive oil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the guanciale and set aside, but keep the fat in the pan. Add the onions, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-high heat until translucent, 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the cooked mushrooms.
• To a large bowl, add the ricotta, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and 1/2 cup grated pecorino and mix to combine. Stir in the flour and eggs and mix until the dough comes together. It shouldn't be too wet. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface that's dusted with flour. Gently knead the dough, adding flour until it's no longer sticky and form it into a log. Sprinkle some flour onto a half sheet tray. Cut a small portion from the log of dough with a bench scraper and roll the dough into a long snake shape. Cut the dough into 1/2-inch pieces and toss in flour. Place them on the prepared sheet tray in a single layer.
• Set up a large pot of boiling water and season generously with salt. Add the gnocchi and cook until they're puffy and rise to the top of the water, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the gnocchi and place directly into the sauce. Add a ladle of pasta water and toss to combine. Add in most of the crispy guanciale (leave some extra for garnish) and the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and 2 tablespoons of pecorino. Add a nice big fat drizzle of finishing oil and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining crispy guanciale, more Parmesan, pecorino and the chives.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float to the top, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes with liquid and season with salt and pepper. Cook tomato sauce until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Once gnocchi float to the top, drain, and transfer to a serving dish. Top gnocchi with tomato sauce and sprinkle with basil chiffonade.

Steps:

• Make sauce:
• in a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet cook garlic and onion in oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until onion is softened. Add tomatoes with reserved juice, wine, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Make gnocchi while sauce is cooking:
• In a small saucepan combine spinach with 1/2 cup water and simmer, covered, breaking up with a fork occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain spinach in a colander and rinse under cold water to cool. Squeeze spinach in a small handfuls until as dry as possible and chop fine.
• In a 5-quart saucepan bring 4 quarts salted water to a boil for cooking gnocchi. Set broiler rack about 4 inches form heat and preheat broiler.
• In a bowl stir together spinach, ricotta, 1/3 cup Parmesan, yolk, 2 tablespoons flour, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well (mixture will be very soft). With well-floured hands form rounded tablespoons of mixture into logs about 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter (about 18) and transfer gnocchi as formed to a sheet of wax paper.
• Working in 2 batches, carefully transfer gnocchi with a spatula to boiling water and cook until they rise to surface, about 2 minutes. Transfer gnocchi as cooked with a slotted spoon to a buttered shallow baking dish large enough to hold them in one layer and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Broil gnocchi until very hot and cheese is melted, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Serve gnocchi with tomato sauce.