Ricotta Gnocchi with Miso Butter

Ricotta Gnocchi with Miso Butter

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Gnocchi

• 1 container whole milk ricotta cheese

• 3 egg yolks

• 125g cup '00' or plain flour

• 28g freshly-grated Parmesan

• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• Oil, for frying

For the Miso Butter Sauce

• 500ml vegetable stock

• 200g spinach

• 1 tbsp miso paste

• 1 lime, juiced and zested

• 5g ginger, grated

• 50g unsalted block butter

• 1 heaped tsp honey

• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

• 1 red chilli, finely sliced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, to serve

• soy sauce and Sriracha, to serve

Method

For the Gnocchi:

- Bring a large pot of heavily-salted water to a boil over high heat.

- Meanwhile, place 4 paper towels on a plate and place the ricotta on top. Place another 4 layers of paper towels on top and gently pat down on the ricotta to drain the cheese from excess liquid. Do not worry if the paper sticks to the ricotta, just gently scrape it off.

- To make the pasta, mix the egg yolks and ricotta in a large bowl and stir briefly to combine. Add in the flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper, and stir until evenly combined. Avoid over-mixing. The dough will be a bit moist and maybe a bit sticky, but it should be holding together well. If it feels too wet, just add another few tablespoons of flour.

- Shape the dough into a thick log then transfer to a lightly-floured cutting board and cover sparsely with flour. Cut the log into 8 even chunks then gently roll each chunk into thinner logs. Once again, lightly dust each log with flour before cutting each log into even bite-sized pieces.

- Carefully transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water to cook. Then once they float — usually after 30 seconds or so — drain the gnocchi.

For the sauce:

- Pour the stock, garlic, and chilli into a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Cook for around 15 minutes, or until reduced.

- Add in the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the miso, lime juice, ginger, and butter, and honey. Cook for a further three minutes, stirring continuously until the butter melts and the sauce is smooth and thickened. Make sure the sauce never boils as it will split! Remove from the heat and set aside.

- Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Once hot, add in the gnocchi and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until softly golden. Pour in the sauce and heat for a further 1-2 minutes over a medium-high heat.

- Serve with a sprinkle of lime zest, spring onions, a drizzle of (optional) soy sauce and sriracha.