When I was writing the manuscript for Florentine, I enlisted the help of an army of recipe testers — about 80 people from all over the world — to test every recipe thoroughly.
Only one came back to me consistently with problems.
From Minnesota to Melbourne, three testers wrote to me that their very first attempt at making Tuscan gnudi (ricotta and spinach balls that, rather than be encased in pasta like for ravioli, are simply dusted in flour) resulted in a pot of simmering water with “dissolved” gnudi.It reminded me of Pellegrino Artusi’s potato gnocchi recipe in his famous cookbook from 1891, where he interrupts the recipe instructions to mention a signora who, upon attempting to stir the gnocchi cooking in the pot, finds they have disappeared— O dove’erano andati? “Where did they go?”
In the case of the gnocchi, there was too little flour used, according to Artusi. But in the case of the gnudi, I already had a hunch. I grilled all three testers on a number of various factors — was the water just simmering, not on a rolling boil (which can destroy delicate gnudi), did they drain the spinach very well, and equally the ricotta (one said she even drained it overnight)? Did they use “proper” ricotta? Aha.
“Proper” ricotta. The kind that was only made a day or so earlier, the leftovers of the cheese-making process, the real deal. The kind that you can see in a deli counter, standing on its own, that gets cut into a big wedge and weighed when you order it. Not the kind you buy at the supermarket, in a tub, that so often is grainy, more like the consistency of yogurt, has no structure, and is full of unnecessary gums or additives. All my recipe testers had used the second kind — to be fair, some were new to the idea of buying ricotta and in their neighbourhood only had access to this. In that case, it would have probably been better to make your own, or choose another recipe.
They retested with a “proper” ricotta and found that was it — the key to gnudi success! I didn’t need to change my recipe, but, with this experience, I reiterated in the cookbook the need for a very good ricotta.
Now I understoodthe reason why in Tuscany you find gnudi recipes don’t use flour inside the mixture, only as a dusting outside, while so many English recipes for gnudi call for flour in the mixture too. It’s more stable, I realise, but it is less traditional and it is also less desirable. No flour in the mixture means these gnudi remain incredibly delicate and oh so pillowy — the extra flour makes them gummy and tough, even bouncy, and more like potato gnocchi, which are another thing all together. Gnudi are simply “nude”, as their name implies, because they are minus their ravioli pasta clothing.
Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi
From “Florentine: The True Cuisine of Florence” (published by Hardie Grant, 2016)
Serves 4
- 350 grams of firm ricotta, well-drained
- 300 grams of cooked, chopped, well-drained spinach (if making from scratch, you need about 1 kg of fresh leaves)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- a pinch of salt, plus more for the water
- a pinch of ground nutmeg
- about 50 grams of plain flour
- 50 grams of unsalted butter
- 20 sage leaves
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
- Mix the ricotta, finely chopped spinach, eggs, pinch of salt and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl. You should have a thick, compact mixture.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl.
With hands, roll walnut-sized spoonfuls of the gnudi mixture in your hands, and then in the flour until well-coated. Place on a lightly-floured board until they are all ready.
Prepare a large pot of water (salted with a spoonful of salt) and bring to a simmer. Carefully drop the gnudi into the water and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until they begin to float to the surface.
In the meatime, prepare the sauce by melting the butter in a wide pan over medium heat with the sage leaves. When butter is melted and before it begins to brown, add about 2-3 spoonfuls of the gnudi water and swirl the pan to create a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
When gnudi are ready, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and place in the sauce. Turn heat to low and swirl to coat the gnudi gently with the sauce. Serve immediately with the cheese.
