Traditional Tuscan Spinach and Ricotta Balls (Gnudi Alla Toscana)
If you don’t feel brave enough to attempt your own homemade pasta just yet, we got you covered with this spinach and ricotta balls (or gnudi) recipe. Gnudi are typical of the Tuscan/Florentine tradition and they translate to naked, due to the lack of pasta “dressing” the filling.
Despite the lack of dough, these little balls hit the spot by delivering the same flavour of ravioli and work perfectly if you’re watching your carbs intake or if you just can’t be bothered to make the dough (we’ll get you there, don’t worry).
As for spinach and ricotta ravioli, these spinach and ricotta balls go amazing with a simple tomato sauce or with butter and sage – we’ll talk more about it later. Now, let’s cook!
Traditional Tuscan Spinach & Ricotta Balls
Equipment
- Pan
- Pot
Ingredients
- 400 gr baby spinach
- 300 gr ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/3 tsp nutmeg
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Flour (as needed)
Instructions
- Start by washing and pan-cook the spinach in a hot pan until they're tender (approximately 10 minutes), adding them a bit at the time on a medium-high flame.
- In the meantime, soften the ricotta in a big bowl.
- When the spinach are cooked, make sure to squeeze out all the moisture to avoid the balls to become too soggy and chopped them very finely. Add to the ricotta and mix everything together.
- Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the mix, and then add the egg yolks and the parmesan. Let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes or more.
- Once the mix has hardened a bit, go ahead and shape the balls (approximately 2 cm/0.8 inches). If your mix is still too soft, add a bit of flour while you shape the balls to have them hold together. Otherwise, just roll them in flour and set on a plate.
- Cook them in a big pot of salted water until they float – depending on the size, this might take 2 to 4 minutes. Dress with either a light, simple tomato sauce or a butter and sage sauce. Spinkle with parmesan and serve.
In honour of spinach and ricotta
The most famous of all ravioli fillings, spinach and ricotta together have a way to complement each other that can only compete with peanut butter and jelly. The most important detail to remember when preparing the filling is nutmeg. Never forget nutmeg. The smallest pinch has such a powerful impact on the overall dish that missing that would be a disgrace.
Spinach and ricotta filling is also the proof that the simplest things in Italian cuisine can deliver the most amazing flavours and become worldwide-known dishes.
To go with it…
The best way to compliment this very simple recipe is to use an equally very simple and delicate sauce. We made ours with an easy tomato sauce, for which you just need:
- A tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Canned plum tomatoes or tomato passata
- Salt and pepper
The trick is to golden the cloves of garlic just enough to infuse the olive oil, being careful not to burn them. Once they’re done, take them out and add the plum tomatoes or the passata (depending on what you chose), adjust with salt and pepper and let it cook. The sauce should reduce nicely. I personally prefer plum tomatoes so I can crush them during the cooking process and they’re gonna give a bit extra texture to the dish. And don’t forget to sprinkle a bit of parmesan on top!
If you’d rather try a butter and sage sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan on very low heat with 2 sage leaves. Let cook for a few minutes. When the gnudi are cooked, cover them with the sauce and add plenty of parmesan cheese on top.
A bit more on this recipe
We cannot claim ownership on our own take on gnudi, as I’ve ashamedly stolen my aunt’s recipe. Tata made these spinach and ricotta balls once over Christmas a couple of years ago and the idea stuck with me ever since. So one day we were craving something nice, but couldn’t be bothered to make our own dough and there we go: we made spinach and ricotta gnudi, a perfect addition to Make Grandma Proud.
Wiki: as most Italian dishes, gnudi have been around for quite a few centuries. They first originated on the southern part of Tuscany as a peasant dish, as all the ingredients are easily available. There are different versions of these (beets, cabbage etc).
Although we made spinach and ricotta ravioli before, this has been a very nice alternative.
If you liked this recipe…
Why not try a few more traditional ones? I can vouch for the authenticity of La Cucina Italiana’s recipe for traditional Italian food.
If you like the concept of gnudi, try Strangolapreti as well: bread gnocchi with an unusual name that translates to Priests chocker. As they’re not as soft as the traditional potato-based gnocchi, priests – satirically known to eat voraciously – would’ve risked to choke themselves while eating them.