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February 27, 2005
in the gnudi
I was very disappointed to go to the Spotted Pig in New York, and not get to eat the gnudi - basically the insides of ravioli, cooked without pasta. Reviews raved about them, but just because I couldn't have them there, I didn't see why I couldn't experience them.
In the end I took advice from a few different recipes - notably the Gothamist one (especially for finishing), an Egullet forum post and a quick squizz in the River Cafe Easy book in the Academic Bookstore (now ordered through the much cheaper Amazon).
I wondered about the autheniticity, but reaching for Elizabeth David (Italian food), she starts her gnocchi section with a ricotta and spinach gnocchi, and then a plain ricotta gnocchi, before moving on to the usual potato gnocchi and semolina gnocchi.
The mix seems pretty malliable - amount of cheese, flour and eggs - so in the end I roughly used:
(for 2 Chris-sized=suprisingly large portions)
250g of ricotta (I could only get semihard ricotta, so i grated finely and then added a dash of water)
100g of parmesan
200g of young pecorino
half a cup of flour, sifted
2 eggs
salt (just a little, cheese is pretty salty)
pepper (more than you would think, this absorbs flavour)
nutmeg
Grate all the cheese. I used a rotary grater that leaves a few odds and ends of cheese whole. Don't add these to the mix if you want a uniform pillowy texture. I really should have just got the food processor dirty, especially when processing so much cheese.
Mix well, quenelle (use 2 spoons to make little rugby balls - otherwise make little balls with your hands), roll in flour, semolina, or polenta. If the mix is soft, refrigerate for half an hour here.
Bring water (with lots of salt) to just under a boil - no bubbles or movement! Daintily place the gnudi into the water in small batches. Don't overfill - they shouldn't touch each other, or they might stick.
When they float to the top, gingerly lift out of the water, and place on a plate. Refridgerate for at least half an hour - they can last a couple of days in this state, or even frozen.
To finish, heat a large knob of butter in a hot heavy bottomed frying pan. No, bigger than that - to paraphrase Anthony Bourdain, there are three reasons things don't taste as good at home: use of real stocks, and the amount of salt and butter used.
Let the butter seperate and brown. Before it goes too far, add the gnudi to the pan, with some sage leaves. Toss until the gnudi are nicely brown. Put the gnudi on a plate.
Here you have two choices - just use the brown butter, or add something acidic to make a lazy sauce. I chose cava, as it was to hand, and a medium squeeze of lemon. Reduce until you can't wait any longer. Serve with salt, pepper, and a little fresh sage.
I experimented a bit with size. A normal quenelle made from tablespoons seemed good. The larger patty was interesting but wasn't as pillowy, but it did let me show you the finished texture.
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