Ricotta Gnocchi with Simple Tomato Sauce

Preparation 1. To prepare the gnocchi, gently mix the cheese, egg yolks, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl until blended. 2. Using your hands, fold the flour gradually into the cheese mixture. You may need more or less flour, depending on how well the cheese was drained. Work the dough until it forms a loose ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into a long rope about 3/4 inch in diameter. Lightly dust each rope with flour to prevent sticking when you cut them into gnocchi. 3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch-long pieces and transfer each piece to the baking sheet. 4. You may choose to leave the gnocchi in these pieces or go one step further by rolling each piece into a ball. Use your thumb, the back of a fork, or a small gnocchi paddle to make grooves on 1 side of the balls and a small indentation on the other. 5.Transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for up to 24 hours. (Do not cover with a damp cloth or the gnocchi will soften.) After the gnocchi dry for 24 hours in the refrigerator, they can be transferred to a rigid plastic container and frozen for up to 1 week. Let them thaw before cooking. 6. Fill a large saucepan with lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Gently drop the gnocchi into the water and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the gnocchi bob to the surface. When they do, cook for 1 minute longer and then drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. 7. To prepare the tomato sauce, heat the tomatoes over medium-high heat. Thin or loosen with a little pasta water. Stir in 1/2 cup of olive oil and the butter until the butter is incorporated. Toss the gnocchi with the tomato sauce. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. 8. Divide the gnocchi among 4 serving plates and drizzle with olive oil. Note:Note:To drain the ricotta cheese, wrap it in a double thickness of cheesecloth and suspend the cheesecloth ball over a bowl, or put the wrapped cheese in a fine-mesh sieve or chinois rested on the rim of a bowl. Refrigerate overnight to give the whey (liquid) time to drain from the cheese into the bowl. Discard the whey. The cheese will be quite dry. The 00 Tipo pizza flour used in this recipe is Italian flour suitable for pizza and pasta. (Do not substitute the 00 Tipo pastry flour!) The number of zeros refers to how finely ground the flour is, with one zero meaning the flour is less finely ground than double-zero flour.Per serving: 790.0 calories, 640.0 calories from fat, 71.0g total fat, 31.0g saturated fat, 140.0mg cholesterol, 3150.0mg sodium, 11.0g total carbs, 2.0g dietary fiber, 6.0g sugars, 30.0g protein Nutritional analysis provided by TasteBook, using the USDA Nutrition Database Osteria by Rick Tramonto. Copyright © 2008 by Rick Tramonto. Published by Bantam Dell Pub Group. All Rights Reserved. Rick Tramonto, the executive chef/partner of Tru in Chicago, was named one of Food & Wine’s Top Ten Best Chefs in the country in 1994 and selected as one of America’s Rising Star Chefs by RobertMondavi in 1995. He has also been nominated four times for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Midwest, winning the award in 2002. Tru, which opened its doors in May 1999, was nominated for the 2000 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and named one of the Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World by Condé Nast Traveler. Tramonto is the coauthor, with his partner Gale Gand, of American Brasserie and Butter Sugar Flour Eggs. Mary Goodbody is a nationally known food writer and editor who has worked on more than forty-five books. Her most recent credits include Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Companion, The Garden Entertaining Cookbook, and Back to the Table. She is the editor of the IACP Food Forum Quarterly, was the first editor in chief of Cooks magazine, and is a senior contributing editor for Chocolatier magazine and Pastry Art & Design magazine. Tim Turner is a nationally acclaimed food and tabletop photographer. He is a two-time James Beard Award winner for Best Food Photography, winning most recently in 2002. His previous projects include Charlie Trotter’s Recipes, Charlie Trotter’s Meat and Game, The Inn at Little Washington, Norman’s New World Cuisine (by Norman Van Aken), Jacques Pepin’s Kitchen, and American Brasserie.

Preparation 1. To prepare the gnocchi, gently mix the cheese, egg yolks, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl until blended. 2. Using your hands, fold the flour gradually into the cheese mixture. You may need more or less flour, depending on how well the cheese was drained. Work the dough until it forms a loose ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into a long rope about 3/4 inch in diameter. Lightly dust each rope with flour to prevent sticking when you cut them into gnocchi. 3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch-long pieces and transfer each piece to the baking sheet. 4. You may choose to leave the gnocchi in these pieces or go one step further by rolling each piece into a ball. Use your thumb, the back of a fork, or a small gnocchi paddle to make grooves on 1 side of the balls and a small indentation on the other. 5.Transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for up to 24 hours. (Do not cover with a damp cloth or the gnocchi will soften.) After the gnocchi dry for 24 hours in the refrigerator, they can be transferred to a rigid plastic container and frozen for up to 1 week. Let them thaw before cooking. 6. Fill a large saucepan with lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Gently drop the gnocchi into the water and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the gnocchi bob to the surface. When they do, cook for 1 minute longer and then drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. 7. To prepare the tomato sauce, heat the tomatoes over medium-high heat. Thin or loosen with a little pasta water. Stir in 1/2 cup of olive oil and the butter until the butter is incorporated. Toss the gnocchi with the tomato sauce. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. 8. Divide the gnocchi among 4 serving plates and drizzle with olive oil. Note:Note:To drain the ricotta cheese, wrap it in a double thickness of cheesecloth and suspend the cheesecloth ball over a bowl, or put the wrapped cheese in a fine-mesh sieve or chinois rested on the rim of a bowl. Refrigerate overnight to give the whey (liquid) time to drain from the cheese into the bowl. Discard the whey. The cheese will be quite dry. The 00 Tipo pizza flour used in this recipe is Italian flour suitable for pizza and pasta. (Do not substitute the 00 Tipo pastry flour!) The number of zeros refers to how finely ground the flour is, with one zero meaning the flour is less finely ground than double-zero flour.Per serving: 790.0 calories, 640.0 calories from fat, 71.0g total fat, 31.0g saturated fat, 140.0mg cholesterol, 3150.0mg sodium, 11.0g total carbs, 2.0g dietary fiber, 6.0g sugars, 30.0g protein Nutritional analysis provided by TasteBook, using the USDA Nutrition Database Osteria by Rick Tramonto. Copyright © 2008 by Rick Tramonto. Published by Bantam Dell Pub Group. All Rights Reserved. Rick Tramonto, the executive chef/partner of Tru in Chicago, was named one of Food & Wine’s Top Ten Best Chefs in the country in 1994 and selected as one of America’s Rising Star Chefs by RobertMondavi in 1995. He has also been nominated four times for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Midwest, winning the award in 2002. Tru, which opened its doors in May 1999, was nominated for the 2000 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and named one of the Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World by Condé Nast Traveler. Tramonto is the coauthor, with his partner Gale Gand, of American Brasserie and Butter Sugar Flour Eggs. Mary Goodbody is a nationally known food writer and editor who has worked on more than forty-five books. Her most recent credits include Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Companion, The Garden Entertaining Cookbook, and Back to the Table. She is the editor of the IACP Food Forum Quarterly, was the first editor in chief of Cooks magazine, and is a senior contributing editor for Chocolatier magazine and Pastry Art & Design magazine. Tim Turner is a nationally acclaimed food and tabletop photographer. He is a two-time James Beard Award winner for Best Food Photography, winning most recently in 2002. His previous projects include Charlie Trotter’s Recipes, Charlie Trotter’s Meat and Game, The Inn at Little Washington, Norman’s New World Cuisine (by Norman Van Aken), Jacques Pepin’s Kitchen, and American Brasserie.