Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Pancetta & Fresh Spring Vegetables
INGREDIENTS (Yields 4 Servings)
For the Gnocchi-
16oz Ricotta
2 Eggs
2 tsp lemon zest
3 cups flour
Salt & pepper to taste
For the Pasta Toppings-
1 cup mushrooms, diced (Morel preferred but any kind works)
1/2 cup pancetta, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 cup fresh spring peas, removed from outer shell
1 cup Asparagus, cut into 2 in pieces
1 cup Parmesan
1/4 cup scallions, minced
Special Equipment-
Fine mesh strainer
DRYING THE RICOTTA
Ricotta typically comes in a plastic container with a lot of excess liquid. When making gnocchi, the more liquid in the cheese, the more flour you have to add to balance it out – which results in tougher, chewier gnocchi. The key to making delicate soft gnocchi is to get the ricotta as dry as possible! Take 16oz of ricotta and place on top of 4 layered paper towels. Give the ricotta an initial squeeze to rid of as much liquid as possible. Repeat the process with additional paper towels if you feel like there is more moisture ready to come out. Once the ricotta is predominately dry, form into a ball and place in a fine mesh strainer over a sink or bowl to allow the rest of the liquid to escape the ricotta. Leave to the size for approx. 1 hour and then place the dried ricotta in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the gnocchi.
DOUGH PREP
Transfer the dried ricotta into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the ricotta, and crack 2 eggs in the middle. Zest 1-2 tsp of a lemon over this mixture to give the gnocchi a fresh flavor. Add a tsp of salt and pepper, along with 1 cup of flour. Start rolling this mixture together, adding flour by the tablespoon if the dough is sticky. You want to continue this process (while trying to use a minimal amount of flour) until you reach a light, fluffy dough consistency.
ROLLING THE GNOCCHI
Lightly flour a flat surface, and place the dough on top. You can avoid the dough sticking to your hands by coating them with flour first. Begin to knead the dough 5-10 times to loosen it up and form into a round shape. Cut this round into 6 even piles of dough. Take 1 pile of dough, and use your hands to roll into a long, snake like shape. The width of this shape will be the width of your gnocchi pieces, so you want it to be 1.5 inches wide at most. Once the “snake shaped” dough is rolled evenly, use a cutting knife at one end to begin cutting your pillow shaped gnocchi bites. These should be approx. 1.5 inches x .5 inch each. Repeat this process with each pile of dough until all of your gnocchi is prepared.
TIP: You will want to continuously dust your rolling space, knife and hands with flour to avoid the dough sticking.
THE PASTA TOPPINGS
Pre-cook the pancetta and mushrooms in a saucepan with 1 tsp butter, and set to the side until you are ready to cook the remaining pasta toppings.
In a saucepan, begin cooking your diced shallot with 2 tbsp butter. Add in the 1.5 inch pieces of diced asparagus, and stir together for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Add in the fresh peas and pre-cooked pancetta pieces, stirring for another 3 minutes and adding butter by the tsp as needed. Next, add in the pre-cooked diced mushrooms and scallions, give it a stir and place on low heat until your gnocchi is ready to add in.
COOKING THE PASTA
Bring a pot of water and 1 tsp salt to a boil. Use a spoon to gently transfer the gnocchi, piece by piece into this boiling water. It is ok if some flour gets into the pot – the key is to be gentle to not break the delicate gnocchi bites. After about 45 seconds, you will start to see gnocchi pillows rising to the top of the water. As soon as you see this, use a slotted spoon to remove (letting excess water fall back into the boiling pot) and transfer these directly to your pan of pasta toppings. Repeat this process until all of your gnocchi is in the pasta topping pan. Raise heat back to medium, add 1 cup of grated Parmesan, and stir all together for 2 minutes.
