Ricotta 'gnudi' with pumpkin burnt butter sauce

One of the benefits in working in a semi-rural area is sometimes you drive past gorgeous farms that offer local produce. One such farm is Provelones in Donnybrook, where I recently bought some beautiful homemade ricotta cheese. I decided to use it to make some ricotta gnudi, basically gnocchi but not with potato, but ricotta instead.

This recipe was a bit fiddly, but I am proud to report it was very impressive and successful. The hardest part was definitely making the gnudi itself, but it was a fun experiment.

For the gnudi:

500 grams of ricotta cheese
1 and a half cups of plain flour (I used gluten free)
1 egg

Combine all ingredients along with some salt and pepper in a bowl. Thoroughly combine until a sticky dough forms. Bring a saucepan full of water to the boil. With wet hands, gently roll tablespoon sized balls of dough and drop them into the saucepan. I went for 'rustic', not really caring if the balls were on a uniform shape. I cooked about five at a time, then placed them on baking paper on a plate to cool.

For the sauce:

2 cups of pumpkin, chopped and roasted for 20 minutes
1 red onion, sliced
Large handful of baby spinach
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/4 cup of butter
sage leaves

In a fry-pan, heat and melt the butter.Add onion. Bring the temperature to high so the butter begins to go a slight brown colour and onion is browned. Add the pine-nuts, spinach, pumpkin and sage. Allow spinach and herbs to wilt. Add gnudi, and toss to combine and heat the gnudi through,

Serve with parmesan cheese.

Roast Pumpkin Parpadelle

I am trying to eat more vegetarian dishes these days, both to save money and because of some reading I have been doing on some of the gross stuff that gets injected into animals before they hit our dinner plates. I am by no means becoming a vegetarian, and still love meat, but I am generally trying to create some really nice vegetarian dishes a few times a week. This one was definitely a winner, and I will be cooking it again for sure. Parpadelle is one of my favourite pasta's, I just love the soft texture and the way the sauce just clings to it. This beautiful pumpkin sauce does that very well.

Roast Pumpkin Parpadelle (serves 4)

2 cups of butternut pumpkin, chopped into 2 cm cubes
2 garlic cloves
Teaspoon of cumin
Teaspoon of ground sage or fresh sage leaves if available
100 mls of light cream
Red onion, sliced
Large handful of spinach
Small handful basil leaves
1/4 chopped feta
Olive oil
Store-bought, preferably fresh parpadelle.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In a casserole dish combine a dash of olive oil, pumpkin, garlic, cumin and sage. Bake for 45 mins or until pumpkin is soft. Allow to cool a little.

In a saucepan with a little oil, saute sliced red onion until soft (5 minutes or so).

Place cooled pumpkin in a food processer (alternatively you could use a barmix). Process until smooth, gradually adding cream to mix. Pour creamy sauce in with the red onion and add the chopped feta.

In a large saucepan, heat enough water to boil the parpadelle and salt. Cook pasta according to instructions and drain. Pour sauce over the parpadelle and toss spinach and basil through until wilted.

Serve with fresh parmesan cheese.