Gnudi...or naked ravioli

A few weeks ago I was looking for ideas to use up some ricotta (been traveling so I'm a little behind on blogging!). Elly recommended this Giada recipe for Gnudi. I had never heard of it before, so did some research and found out that gnudi is pretty much ravioli without the pasta...just the filling.

I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. I threw a full bag of it into the water as it was coming to a boil, and removed it after 30 seconds. After squeezing out all of the water, I roughly chopped it. I also added 2 cloves of garlic to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used 1 bag of fresh spinach)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• Added: 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup for coating
• 1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated
  

Directions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (this is when I quickly wilted the fresh spinach)
• In a large bowl, mix ricotta, spinach, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and yolks.
• Stir in nutmeg, salt, pepper, and flour.
• Form mixture in to small, flattened balls (this is easier to do if your hands are wet).
• Dredge the formed gnudi in flour to coat, tapping off the excess. Slide formed gnudi into the boiling water. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan; work in batches if necessary.
• Remove the gnudi using a slotted spoon after they float to the top and have cooked for about 4 minutes.
• Arrange gnudi on a platter and lightly drizzle with marinara sauce.

Having never had gnudi, I didn't know what to expect. They were good, but I could taste too much of the flour. The recipe made 10 nice sized gnudi.

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