Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with a Tomato Wine Reduction

I let you in on a little secret. Making ricotta at home is easier than finding quality store bought. No messing around, my 3 step ricotta will amaze you and may never have you buying basic, flavourless, preserve ridden ricotta again. But let’s take it back a few notches. Welcome to a true Italian culinary experience awaiting you right at home.

If covid has taught me anything, as I am sure many of you as well, is that culinary creativity doesn’t have to be only explored within the restaurant world. You CAN create beautiful, stylistic, crafted dishes right at home even with the most basic ingredients. Never under estimate the power of natural elements - fire, water, sun and earth - and never overlook your own culinary creativity. You may not be an experienced trained chef (I am certainly not myself) but you have the potential to create the extraordinary.

Take ricotta making for example. The curdles of ricotta are made when an acidic element, for example lemon, is added to pasterized milk (yes cow’s milk in this recipe, sorry). Simple, no? This means to make ricotta all you need is milk and lemon juice! I have come to love ricotta when you flavour it with herbs or spices to create a more complex palate but these add-ins are not the be all or end all. Two other points to mention are having a;

• cheese cloth

• fine strainer over a large, deep pot or bowl

makes cheese making one thousand times easier. Why? Because you need to separate the curdles from the whey - ie. the ricotta which is fat curdles from the liquid which is the high protein whey (yes this is where Whey protein comes from). Having a fine cheese cloth which holds the curds tight and compresses the liquid out means you save time and energy worrying if any curdles fall through if just using a sieve. You can buy a pack of 5-10 on Amazon for under 5€ and they can be used a maximum of 6 times each (just rinse and wash after use).

Now you have your OWN homemade ricotta, diving into making homemade gnocchi is the easy part! Whipping together ricotta, flour, eggs and salt then rolling to form a beautiful dough is all it takes. No overnight rising, no careful yeast preparation and no wasted hours spent kneading. Mix, roll and boil! And all of these ingredients leaves you spending no more than 2-3€ over a small packet of quality store bought Italian Deli Gnocchi for 10-20€. It’s a no brainer. To add to that, don’t you want to know exactly what goes into your food and thus, your mouth and body? Beginning with what seems like complicated dishes, but breaking them down and spending a free afternoon learning and experimenting means you are taking charge of how food can be viewed as a mass consumed object and making it a true culinary design feature and masterpiece.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. I definitely did in both it’s taste and process.

xx

Cecile

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with a Tomato Wine Reduction

Ingredients

1 liter whole milk

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 lemon, juiced

1 tsp salt

2 organic eggs

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 vine ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 cup white wine

2 garlic cloves

1 small white onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon thyme, removed from the stem

2 large sage leaves

Method

In a small pot, heat your milk and oregano until it begins to boil. Add your lemon juice and once the mixture begins to curdle, turn the heat off and leave to sit for 20-30 minutes.

Pour the mixture through a cheese cloth with a bowl fitted underneath so your cheese is separated in the cloth from the whey liquid. Place the liquid in a jar and this can be used for scrambled eggs, in proteins shakes or as a broth for ravioli. Place the cheese in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Once the ricotta is cool, place into a large mixing bowl along with the salt and eggs. Mix, breaking up the ricotta. Add half the flour and fold through. Once incorporated, fold in the remaining flour. The mixture will be sticky but don’t over flour it otherwise you will end up with very tough gnocchi.

Flour a clean work surface and empty the dough. Separate into 6-7 equal parts. Working on one part at a time, cover your hands with flour (to avoid the dough sticking) and roll into a 10 centimeter log about 1-2 centimeters in circumference. Cut into small gnocchi pieces about 1/2 centimeter big. Place on a plate ensuring they do not touch. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

Pour boiling water into a large pot and once the water is rolling individually place the gnocchi pieces in but divide the lot into 2-3 different times. Once the gnocchi rises to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook your onion and garlic with a tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes. Add your tomatoes, thyme and sage and cook for 5-6 minutes until they begin to break down. De-glaze the pan with the wine and add salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I like to add half a teaspoon of white sugar to balance the tartness but this is up to you.

Place the boiled gnocchi into the tomato sauce and mix well. Heat for 2-3 minutes and then plate into small bowls with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sage leaves (optional).