The first codified recipe of cheese gnocchi is found in a fourteenth-century manuscript preserved in Bologna.
It has very few ingredients: fresh cheese, egg yolks, and flour. It probably had a much softer consistency and was therefore cooked by taking the dough by the spoonful before throwing it into boiling water. It was seasoned with just grated cheese.
At the time – and until the end of the Renaissance – they were called macaroni, like all pasta.
I use my Aunt Paola’s very easy recipe. She seasons them with a tomato sauce. I prefer them with black truffle, as they serve it in Roccamandolfi in Molise. Or there’s always the classic melted butter with sage and a mountain of Parmesan!
Aunt Paola's ricotta gnocchi
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Ingredients for 4 servings
- Difficulty: Easy recipe
- Ingredients
- 11 oz (300 grams) of ricotta cheese
- 7 oz (200 grams) of all-purpose flour (+ more flour for the pastry board)
- 3 oz (80 grams) of grated parmesan
- 1 egg
- Salt to taste
- Instructions
- Put the ricotta in a colander for at least two hours to drain the whey.
- Pour the ricotta into a bowl with the flour, egg, salt, and parmesan cheese. Mix the ingredients well until the mixture is uniform. The dough must be smooth and not sticky.
- Dust the pastry board with flour. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a 3cm-wide log.
- Slice into 2cm-thick pieces and set aside on a lightly floured tray. Leave the gnocchi to rest on a well-floured tray for at least an hour.
- Cook the gnocchi in a large pot with salted boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes until firm and floating on the surface. Season them and serve them hot.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- Ricotta made with cow milk is more neutral in flavor but really watery. As a good Roman, I prefer the type made from sheep milk.
- The gnocchi must be cooked immediately after being made. Do not keep them in the fridge. A trick is to put them in the freezer and cook them frozen, but be careful to place them in the freezer well arranged on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to each other.
- It’s better to cook them in a large pan so that they remain distant. Cook at a low boil, close to a simmer.
- For the tomato sauce recipe click here
Mum’ cousins: from left Silvana, Enrico, Paola and Aldo
