Wild Garlic Gnudi
Spring is officially here and so is the wild garlic, always arriving right on time as a welcome sign of what's to come. In the farming world we are in The Hungry Gap, with winter crop finishing up, there is a short season of scarcity, a lull before the availability of spring and summer produce. This recipe makes cloud-like gnudi dumplings to welcome the longer days.
INGREDIENTS:
serves 4
250g ricotta
30g wild garlic, thoroughly washed
30g basil, leaves picked
80g parmesan, finely grated
2 egg yolks
70g pasta flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
Semolina flour
METHOD:
Best made a day ahead, once shaped the gnudi will sit in the fridge for 2 days.
If you are using supermarket ricotta, start by draining your ricotta for 2 hours/ overnight in the fridge to drain off excess liquid.
Bring a medium pan of water to boil and blanch the wild garlic and basil leaves for 1 minute, immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water as well as possible before adding to a blender with half the ricotta. Once blended together tip the mixture into a bowl and add the rest of the ricotta, the parmesan, the egg yolks and mix well. Gently fold in the flour and the nutmeg and season with 1/2 tsp sea salt and black pepper.
You should have a bright green dough, add a little more flour if it still seems too wet.
On a surface sprinkled with semolina flour, split the dough into quarters and roll each out into 2 cm thick long snakes. The use a sharp knife to cut the snake into 2- 3 cm wide rectangles depending on how big you want the gnudi. Store the gnudi on a tray or in container dusted with semolina flour covered in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to serve, have a large pan of salted boiling water ready, tip the gnudi in and cook on a medium high heat for 1-2 minute until the gnudi float to the top, use a slotted spoon to remove.
The gnudi are now cooked, but i would recommend frying them and very lightly browning the edges. They are delicious cooked in a lemon butter sauce, or simply with browned butter and crispy sage leaves. Also great with a simple tomato sugo.
