According to Wikipedia, “gnudi” is the Tuscan word for “naked” which makes a lot of sense when you consider what gnudi actually are: they’re essentially what you get if you take ravioli filling, bulk it up with some flour and egg to make a batter, roll it into balls and boil it - no folding or cutting fresh pasta necessary. I like to think of them as the lazy, chill, naked cousin of ravioli. Fun, right? We Eastern Europeans also have a lazy version of our beloved vareniki (potato dumplings) that employs the same concept as above so clearly the desire to be lazy and naked crosses cultural boundaries.
Laziness/lack of time might’ve been the original reason that, centuries ago, Italians conceived of this dish (or maybe it wasn’t and everyone’s gonna get mad at me, truly a toss-up) however, if I’m being honest, these gnudi were actually a little fussy!! My first batch of batter was too loose and produced shapeless blobs, my second batch was too cakey and flour-y, but my third was just right - a real goldilocks situation. What I’m saying is I made a lot of mistakes so you wouldn’t have to. My conclusion: the single most important factor to pillowy, soft and shapely gnudi is to eliminate moisture at every turn which means properly draining the ricotta and squeezing as much liquid as possible out of the spinach before adding it to the batter.
I can see a world in which I mess around with gnudi and incorporate all sorts of fun twists and turns but for my purposes today, I stuck with a more or less classic take: spinach and ricotta gnudi served in brown butter. I draped them with Prosciutto di San Daniele because the savory, earthy flavor of the prosciutto is a perfect contrast to the cheesy, creamy gnudi and the nutty brown butter sauce.
(full disclosure: this recipe was developed for an Instagram campaign in partnership with Icons of European Taste, a European government program aimed at preserving traditional Italian products - you can check out that video here. However, this Substack post is *not* sponsored)
Spinach & Ricotta Gnudi with Prosciutto di San Daniele
WHAT YOU NEED
Gnudi:
2.5 cups ricotta, drained
20 oz spinach
1 cup Grana Padano, finely grated
Up to ½ cup flour
1 egg
1 tsp allspice
Several sprigs thyme
Salt + pepper to taste
To serve:
1 stick butter
several sprigs thyme
Grana Padano Cheese
Prosciutto di San Daniele
Salt + pepper to taste
WHAT YOU DO
Strain the ricotta by adding it to a colander lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth. Either do this over a large bowl or in the sink. Half an hour should be sufficient for enough moisture to drain from the ricotta which is the key to making great gnudi!
Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and dunk immediately in the ice water. This process is called “blanching” and it cooks the spinach while preserving its bright green color/quality.
Squeeze as much moisture from the spinach as you can (again – this is key!!!).
Finely chop the spinach and add to a large bowl along with the strained ricotta, Grana Padano, flour, egg, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper. Stir. The resulting batter should be thick, not runny. If things are feeling loose/runny, add more flour.
Set up a workstation with your bowl of batter, a floured sheet pan, and a small bowl of water.
Scoop 2-3 tablespoons of batter from the bowl and use your hands to roll it into a ball. Pro tip: wetting your hands makes this process easier/less sticky. Place the ball on the floured sheet pan and repeat until all the batter is done, wetting your hands as necessary in between balls.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the gnudi for 3-4 minutes or until they float.
Meanwhile, add butter to a skillet on medium heat. Cook until it foams over then browns. Cut the heat and add several sprigs of thyme. Salt to taste.
Plate the gnudi. Top with brown butter and freshly grated Grana Padano Cheese. Drape with Prosciutto di San Daniele.