Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
Servings 3 - 4 servings
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 12 oz best quality ricotta cheese (about 1½ cups)
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese finely grated (about ½ cup)
- 3½-5 oz all-purpose flour (about 1 cup), as needed
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Semolina flour for dusting
Instructions
- Drain the ricotta by lining a large plate with three layers of clean white dish towels or white paper towels.
- Transfer ricotta directly to towels and spread with a rubber spatula. Place another triple layer of clean white towels or white paper towels on top and press down firmly with the palms of your hands to blot excess moisture.
- Peel off the upper paper towels.
- Place a large bowl on a scale and zero the scale.
- Make the ricotta gnocchi dough by scraping the ricotta into a bowl to weigh. Remove excess ricotta to leave exactly 8 ounces, reserving excess ricotta for another use.
- Add Parmesan cheese, 3½ ounces of flour, a whole egg, and the extra egg yolk to the bowl.
- Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
- Combine the mixture with a rubber spatula. It should be sticky but not loose. Add a tablespoon of flour if it is still very moist after kneading with the spatula for 1 minute.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with flour.
- Make the ricotta gnocchi by flattening the dough into a 4-6-inch disk and cutting into quarters using a bench scraper.
- Cut each quarter in half, creating 8 even-sized pieces.
- Working one piece at a time, roll the dough into a log about 6 inches long, dusting with flour as necessary.
- Split the log in half, and roll each half into a log about 12 inches long and 3/4-inch wide.
- Cut the ricotta gnocchi using a bench scraper, and cut each log into 8 to 10 same-sized pieces.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet dusted with semolina flour.
- Gently shake the baking sheet to lightly coat the gnocchi with the semolina flour to prevent sticking.
- To cook the ricotta gnocchi immediately, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add gnocchi to the pot, stir gently, and cook until the gnocchi all float for 30 seconds, about 3 minutes total.
- Drain gnocchi, reserving ½ cup of pasta cooking water.
- Serve with marinara sauce or sauce of choice.
- To freeze the ricotta gnocchi, transfer to a baking sheet and place in the freezer until the gnocchi are completely frozen, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer gnocchi to a freezer zip-lock bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
- To cook the ricotta gnocchi directly from frozen, cook as above, adding a few minutes to the cooking time.