Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

I can still remember the 4 hours (very well worth) that I spent on making my very first gnocchi from scratch – yes, it took me full 4 hours to make the dough, cook it and also make my sauce from scratch (because using ready-to-use sauce is just never the same).

The reason it took me the full 4 hours is because I kind of was just winging how much potatoes and flour I used to make the dough. I also remember having dough up my arms and finding little pieces all the way up my elbows a few hours later.

 After I was done, sitting down and enjoying the wonderful taste of 'homemade' made those 4 hours very much worth it! It was an amazing meal! But naturally, this only happens on special occasions and the last time I made it was to celebrate graduating from nutrition school. What better way to celebrate than with friends and good food, right?

When I came across this recipe (in pinterest of course, haha), I was extremely excited because I love gnocchi and creative cooks that take traditional recipes to the next level with their own special touches!

This recipe replaces the potatoes for spinach and ricotta. And don’t worry, it did not take 4 hours ;) it probably didn’t even take an hour to get everything done including the sauce. Now, I decided to go with tomato sauce because I confess I’m not the best at making white sauces (if you have a good recipe, do share!).

Enough intros about this yummy dish and let’s get cookin’!

Here’s what you need for your homemade spinach gnocchi:

• 200 grams (7oz.) of spinach
• 1/3 cup ricotta
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon of salt, lemon zest, dried thyme (each)
• ½ teaspoon of white pepper

If you are using fresh spinach, add it to a pan with a little bit of water and cook with lid for a couple of minutes just until they turn that beautiful bright green. Remove from the stove and drain well.

If your spinach is frozen, just defrost and then drain well.

In a medium bowl mix ricotta, flour, egg, parmesan cheese, and the spices with a fork. Cut up the spinach and add in bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Mix with your hands the spinach with the rest of ingredients. If you notice that the dough is still sticking too much to your fingers, add a little more of flour.

Shape the mix into small balls (make sure they are not too big since it will take longer to cook and won’t come out as soft).

Put the gnocchi in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water. Like other gnocchi recipes, the dough will rise to the top of the water when they are cooked.

Scoop out the dumplings as they rise.

Serve with your choice of sauce (I chose homemade tomato sauce for mine)

And there you have it - enjoy my dear nutrinutters!

Until next time J

Bon Appetit!

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-