This is my first time making homemade hand shaped pasta. This is awesome for so many reasons. Two of which are: 1) it’s really easy and totally not hard at all 2) you don’t need a pasta maker for this! On Saturday, my friend Jen and I attended a Hand Shaped Pasta Making Class here in Seattle at Cuoco. The class was so much fun. I highly recommend this class to anyone here in Seattle who has the interest and loves pasta. We were welcomed with Prosecco and a Nettle soup with breadcrumbs. Delicious! And what a delight to enjoy first thing on a Saturday morning.
In our pasta class, our lovely teacher, Rebecca, showed us how to make farfalle, garganelli and ricotta cavatelli or Ricotta Gnocchi. I really loved this hands-on class because it cast away any fear I might have had with making pasta from scratch. It definitely takes more time and I won’t be doing this on a regular basis (we eat pasta at least one or twice a week) but now I know how much time goes into it and that the process is not hard at all; just time consuming. And with the hand shaped pasta, some practice is needed.
The best part of the class, after we got to get our hands dirty and make pasta ourselves, was actually tasting the pasta. And we got to take home the pasta we made in class. Here’s my Ricotta Gnocchi! I’m ushering in Spring with this dish. I really love the fresh ingredients and simplicity of this dish. I made a sage butter sauce for gnocchi before but I love that this dish is really just bringing together fresh vegetables/ingredients and simply using olive oil, salt, pepper and parmigiano-reggiano for its flavor. This was a bit of “let’s throw almost all of the vegetables I have in the fridge in here” but what I love about this is that you can use whatever you have or what is in season. This dish is a little rustic, simple and delicious. I hope you enjoy!
Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 lb. whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- about 2 cups or 9 oz. all-purpose flour, plus more for the dough and kneading
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well using a rubber spatula, rubber dough scraper or your hands. Knead/mix the dough for about 2-3 minutes. The dough should be somewhat wet and sticky. The dough should come together within a few minutes; be careful not to overwork the dough.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface then using your hands, bring it together and shape into a round mound. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.
- When ready, unwrap the dough (sprinkle on a little flour to help you work with the dough if needed) and cut the dough into 3-4 pieces and then roll each piece into 12-inch long ropes or as long as you can get it (about 3/4-inch thick). While rolling, if needed, add a little extra flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands or your work surface.
- Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the ropes into little squares (about 1 inch wide). If a gnocchi design is desired, take a piece of gnocchi dough and make a dent into the middle of the dough with your two fingers (index finger and middle finger). Then, using the back of a fork, roll the dough piece off the back of the fork to create lines in the gnocchi, while keeping the curved shape of the pasta.
- When finished, transfer the gnocchi to a baking sheet with flour and shake the sheet so that the flour lightly coats each piece. At this point, you can either cook the gnocchi or freeze it. If freezing, place the baking sheet with gnocchi into freezer and freeze for about 2 hours until the gnocchi are hardened. Then, transfer the frozen gnocchi to a plastic container or resealable bag. When you are ready to cook the gnocchi, simply remove from the freezer and continue with the directions below.
- about 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced or finely chopped
- onions; chopped
- mushrooms (like cremini or baby portobellos); sliced
- asparagus tips
- zucchini; chopped
- sweet cherry tomatoes; halved
- a few handfuls of fresh spinach
- salt and pepper
- Ricotta gnocchi
- Pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- In a large pan or wok, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. After a minute or two, add your garlic and stir. After another couple minutes, add all of your vegetables except the spinach. Season with salt and pepper and saute for about 3-4 minutes.
- While the vegetables are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ricotta gnocchi and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the gnocchi begin to float. Using a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi and set aside.
- Going back to the vegetables, add the spinach and mix and cook for another minute or two until the spinach begins to wilt. When the spinach is ready, add your cooked gnocchi, toss gently and season more with salt and pepper if needed.
- To serve: plate the gnocchi with the vegetables and garnish generously with freshly grated Pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Serve immediately.
Inspired by the pasta we ate after class at Cuoco.
This pasta class sounded like fun!
I’ve attempted potato gnocchi with little success. I think I’ll try this recipe in my next attempt.
Amy, you must try this! It was surprisingly easy and delicious!
OH I want what’s in that plate for dinner tonight!
I’ve always wanted to make my own gnocchi… sounds simple enough! Or maybe I should take a class first. 🙂
Kate, you must try this! Like I just told Amy above, it was surprisingly easy and delicious! Don’t let homemade/hand made pasta intimidate you! Dude, if you can make macarons, you can make this!
My mouth is watering just looking at these photos! They already were when you were posting on Instagram over the weekend. I’d love to try this — making pasta always seemed so intimidating, but this looks possible.
Hi Joy! It’s sooooo possible! I really do hope you give this a try! Let me know if you do! 🙂
Your gnocchi looks perfect! And your dish with the vegetable medley is outstanding!!! Fresh pasta is such a treat!!!!
Thank you so much, Liz!
Your gnocchi looks stunning Alice! So well shaped and the sauce is perfect for it. Well done!
Thank you, Paula!
I am alien to pasta making and also, its the comfort zone of buying the ready made ones. Lovely outcome, that which is now stuck in my mind to make and the interesting combo of ingredients with the pasta.
Thank you. . I hope you do give this one a try! Gnocchi is surprisingly simple. And like I said above, no pasta maker required!
I’m so jealous of you. >.< Learning pasta is really a fun class! I wish they have a class like that here. Glad that you shared the recipe here. Love gnocchi and never thought to have that with ricotta. I used to make that using potato or sweet potato. Yum! Can't wait to give it a try.
Oh Linda, you will love this! And look online. . I’m sure there’s a pasta class somewhere close to you!
This has fabulous written alll over it! What a splendid supper!!!
Thank you so much!!!
Hi- How much Gnocchi does this make? I am making this for Easter and want to make sure I have enough. Thanks for sharing, it looks AMAZING!
Thank you, Colleen! I’d say about 4-6 servings, depending on how large or small you shape your gnocchi (and how much vegetables you serve this with). Have you made gnocchi before? If not, I’d suggest making some a few days ahead (like tomorrow if you can) and freezing the rest OR just making a test batch of dough and testing it so it’s perfect for Easter! Please let me know how it goes!!
And please let me know if you have any more questions! 🙂
Beautiful artisan pasta on a Saturday morning. Doesn’t get any better than that. Money well spent and I love those garganelli, they look so stunning & definitely moreish.
As for the ricotta gnocchi, they too look like a big bowl of delicious comfort and just perfect with the fresh doing veg!
Thank you so much, Alice!
So this is the recipe you mentioned! You did a fantastic job. And I just love all the fresh veggies in your recipe. Perfect for spring!
Thank you, Melanie! 🙂
I assisted in a cooking class where the chef was teaching us how to make Gnocchi. It was a ton of fun. Your dish looks wonderful. I love the veggies – perfect use for asparagus while it’s in season.