Easy Italian Recipes

 MAKES 8-10 SERVINGS

** For the Gnocchi **

2 1/2 pounds (1.15 k) sheep's milk ricotta, drained in a sieve overnight
3 1/3 cups (400 g) white flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt
A grating (1/8 teaspoon) of freshly ground nutmeg
** For the Sauce **
40 squash blossoms
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
2/5 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup 5% white truffle butter

Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Mention gnocchi and most people think of potato gnocchi because they're the most common kind. However, the word gnocco (pronounced neeocco) means dumpling, and they can be made many ways. Chef made ricotta gnocchi this time, and served them with a tasty squash blossom sauce.

To begin, a couple of observations:
First,  uses sheep's milk ricotta because ricotta made from cow's milk is less creamy. If what you have is cow's milk ricotta, it will work. Second, if you do not have white truffle butter, you can make do by working a few drops of truffle oil into regular unsalted butter.

Next, the Recipe:
Put the drained ricotta through a sieve and into a bowl. Combine with it the flour, and the cream, which confers a smoother taste, and work in the salt and the nutmeg too. Cover and chill for at least an hour.

While the gnocchi dough is chilling, carefully wash and pat dry the squash blossoms, and quarter them lengthwise.

Set a big pot of water to boil, and when the hour is up begin to make the gnocchi, in batches: Take a cup of dough and roll it into a snake about as thick as your thumb on a floured work surface. Cut the shake into 1-inch lengths (2.5 cm) and put them in a floured dish. Repeat the process with another cup of gnocci dough, and continue until you have used up all the dough.

By now the pot of water should be boiling. Salt it, and add the gnocchi in several batches lest the water cool overmuch. When the gnocchi rise to the surface they're done; remove them with a strainer or slotted spoon and put them in a lightly buttered dish.

Continue until you have cooked all the gnocchi, and while you are doing this take a sizeable saucepan and heat the olive oil and the garlic in it. When the garlic is lightly browned, remove and discard it, and add the squash blossoms. Cook over a brisk flame for a minute, add the cream, and bring the sauce to a boil. Gently add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce and heat them through, lowering the flame as the sauce thickens lest the dish burn. After about 3 minutes remove the saucepot from the fire, gently stir in the truffle butter, and serve at once.

The Wine? Since Chef is Tuscan, I'd be tempted to serve these with a good Vernaccia di San Gimignano, along the lines of Montenidoli's Vernaccia Fiore.

Note: garnished your gnocchi by selecting several pretty squash blossoms, cutting them in half, putting them flat on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and crisping them for a couple of minutes in a hot oven. They look quite nice, and also add a pleasant flavor contrast.