spinach and ricotta gnocchi

You have to really love someone to make this for them. Its a huge undertaking, and while it doesn't look like much, its VERY good for you and low in calories (566 without the modifications I listed) and is so rich tasting. 4 hands definitely make a difference with this one.

serves 2, double recipe for 4 people

1 lb fresh spinach
3/4 cups ricotta
2 T fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 egg beaten
1/8 t grated nutmeg
all purpose flour (quantity will depend on moisture)
1/4 cup butter melted
salt pepper and fresh grated parmesan to top

clean spinach thoroughly, discarding the woody stems. place spinach in a large pan and cook for 5 min until wilted. leave to cool and squeeze the spinach as dry as possible (i used a cheese cloth). process in a blender or food processor and then transfer to bowl.

add ricotta, parmesan, eggg and grated nutmeg. season with salt and pepper and mix together. ad enough flour to make the mixture into a soft dough. (it may be sticky, which was my problem. if i kept adding flour, i'd have starchy gnocchi, but i never got it to dough consistency, which lead us to dropping teaspoons of the "dough" into boiling water. If yours turns into a dough that you can roll into long sausages, then try that and cut them then drop into water)

boil until float, approx 2-3 min. remove with a slotted spoon. either stop here by drizzling the butter and topping with the cheese. or, heat an over to 350, put into a dish, add butter and cheese and bake 5 min until cheese is melted.

this entire process took over an hour, with 2 people doing everything. very labor intense, and I kept hoping we'd hate it because it was such a pain. but no, it was delicious and we want more.