I recently discovered these delightful little treats. They are like the filling of a ricotta ravioli, without the ravioli. Even their name is joyful, it means “naked” (blush).

These feel a little bit scary to make, but somehow everything works out in the end. You will be left with pillowy soft cheese dumplings. I finished these ones with butter and sage, which I’m told is traditional, but you could also consider finishing them with tomato sauce or, dare I say it, even more cheese!

Makes enough for 2 big or 4 light dinners (with a salad).

Ingredients:

• Gnudi:
  • About 2 cups full-fat ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup AP flour plus more to roll the gnudi in
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Butter and sage sauce
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 10-15 fresh sage leaves (or use herb butter)
  • 1/4 of a lemon
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Gnudi
   • Check how much moisture there is in your ricotta. If there is liquid at the bottom of the container, place in a strainer and let drain for 10 minutes or so.
   • Combine ricotta (2 cups), eggs (2), flour (1 cup), salt (1/2 tsp) and parmesan (1 cup) in a bowl and stir until completely combined
   • Let chill in the fridge for at least half an hour
   • Place some flour in a bowl
   • Roll the dough into balls roughly the size of golf balls (about 4cm or 1.5 inches, no need to get out the ruler here)
   • Try not to worry, the dough will be very soft, if it truly won’t form a ball then you can add more flour
   • Roll each ball in flour and place on a cookie sheet
   • Let the balls of dough chill in the fridge for at least another half hour
   • Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil
   • Carefully drop the gnudis into the boiling water (you may need to do this in batches) and boil for 3-5 minutes – they will float to the top when they are done
   • Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside to dry off a bit
2. Butter and sage sauce
   • Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat (not too hot, you don’t want this to smoke)
   • Add sage leaves if using
   • Place gnudis in batches in the butter, let them brown on one side before carefully flipping them – don’t overcrowd them or else they won’t brown properly
   • Keep an eye on the sage leaves and remove once they get crispy, then use them to decorate the gnudi when you are serving them
   • Place gnudis on a plate, sprinkle with salt to taste and give them a squeeze of lemon juice

Notes:

• The key with these little dumplings is to give them lots of time to chill out, or else they might fall apart. Sound familiar?