Aunt Kathleen’s Ricotta Gnocchi

Imagine eating fluffy clouds of pasta that practically melt in your mouth. Not only are they full of flavor, but these pillows are packed with memories and history. That's what it felt like making and eating my Aunt Kathleen's ricotta gnocchi. Learning how to make these over a Zoom call in 2020 was one of the highlights of my year, especially after finding my Italian birth family when I was 55 years old.

After finally meeting for the first time, Aunt Kathleen shared many stories about her growing up years and gave me background about my birth relatives whenever she could to help me connect more deeply to my Italian heritage. She mentioned the homemade ricotta gnocchi that she and my grandmother made that were lighter and healthier than a version using potatoes. I was intrigued. I had been hearing so much about my birth mother’s mother—my nonna—and what a great cook she was, that I wanted all the family recipes! It was May 2020 and the world was still in lockdown, so my aunt offered to walk me through her recipe via a Zoom call while she was making them for dinner that night. Uncle Tom was a huge help in managing the camera so I could catch all the nuances to the preparation. It wasn’t quite the same as being in person and feeling the texture of the dough for myself or enjoying the reward of tasting how it all came together in the end, but I was overjoyed regardless.

If you like gnocchi as much as I do, you’ll want to give this recipe a try. Kevin prefers them to potato gnocchi because they aren’t as heavy in his stomach. Don’t worry about whether you can get the thumb rolls to work. I’ve used a small gnocchi board, a fork, and even ignored rolling them all together and instead left them cut in tiny pillows. It all works!

Neither Aunt Kathleen nor my nonna really measured, but these are the measurements that I put together as a novice. I also add some grated parmesan, black pepper, and parsley, but you are welcome to leave those out.

If you want to pronounce gnocchi like an Italian, here’s a link to a pronunciation guide so you never get tripped up ordering them in a restaurant again. Of course, now that you know how to make them, you may never need to order them again!

Ingredients

Ricotta gnocchi rolled with a gnocchi board

1 pound (or 15 oz) container whole milk ricotta cheese (get the best you can find; keep the container)

00 Italian flour or all-purpose flour lightly scooped into the ricotta container and leveled to to the top of the container (don’t pack it). We aren’t measuring it precisely because you’ll be adding more as you go

1 whole egg

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions

Drain the ricotta: Spread the ricotta on the paper towels in an even layer and place another layer of 3-4 paper towels on top of the ricotta. Press down gently to let the excess moisture soak into the paper towels, trying to soak up as much of the excess liquid as possible. Transfer the ricotta to a large mixing bowl.

Dough: Add the egg to the ricotta and stir briefly to combine. Add in the flour, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt and pepper, and parsley and stir until evenly combined. The dough will be a bit moist and maybe a bit sticky, but it should be holding together well. If it feels too wet, just add in another few tablespoons of flour.

Portion off a piece of the dough and, using your hands on a well-floured surface, roll it into a “snake” approximately 3/4-inch thick. Cut each log into individual bite-sized little gnocchi squares. Take each square and press down and with your floured thumb, firmly roll it away from you. Optionally using a fork, put the dough close to the tines and roll towards you so that it’s rolled with ridges. Another option if these can’t work is to leave them as the pillows. Regardless which method you choose, lightly dust all the gnocchi with flour so that they don’t stick together while cooking.

Put the gnocchi you don’t plan to cook right away on sheet pans covered with parchment and a light dusting of flour and then put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes to flash freeze and store in freezer bags.

To Serve

Ricotta gnocchi pillows with fresh tomato sauce and basil

Bring a large stockpot of generously-salted water to a boil over high heat.

For the gnocchi you are ready to cook and eat right away, transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water to cook. Once they float up to the surface (less than a minute or so), use a spaghetti spider to remove them from the water and allow to drain. Serve immediately and toss them with your favorite sauce, sprinkle on some fresh basil and some extra Parmigiano-Reggiano! Pour yourself a glass of wine, close your eyes, and imagine yourself in Italy!

Buon appetito!