Gnudi By Detroittokyo I Made It

Gnudi by DetroitTokyo

chuckieb 12 years ago
Dahlia was the first one to ever introduce the word "Gnudi" to me. I'd never heard of it before she posted:
Spinach Ricotta Gnudi
But we love spinach and we love ricotta and I had been wanting to make Gnocchi for awhile, so decided to attempt this first.
I found a fun article on the Net called "Gno the difference between Gnocchi and Gnudi". It went on to say: "Gnocchi literally translated in to Italian means "lump". Gnoccho, which is an individual gnocchi, translates in to the slang "dull-witted oaf. Gnocchi is a nugget-sized dumpling generally made from potato and flour. Gnudi is a Florentine creation made from Swiss Chard or spinach and ricotta with very little flour."
Another article went on to say that most everyone likes the concept of gnocchi, but being especially prone to overkneading and overcooking, gnocchi can be a hard, chewy downer.
Gnocchi lovers often mention the word 'pillowy' when gushing about it, but pillowy gnocchi is a rare experience. And that explains the popularity of Gnudi. Minimize the flour and put the rolling pin away. Replace the potato of gnocchi with a soft pillowy cheese and the result is a delicate cheesy-gnocchi-type thing that is indeed pillowy and easy to make.
I must admit that I had trouble with the flour measurement. Dahlia says to add 1/4 cup of flour to your ricotta,egg,spinach mixture in the food processor and then put the other 1/4 cup of flour on your work surface. When my dough came out of the food processor it was not at all doughy. I had to spoon it out. Even with the 1/4 cup of flour on my work surface worked in to it there was no way I was going to be able to form it into any semblance of dough, never mind a rope of dough. But...I just continued to add flour in small amounts until I could actually handle it. I didn't measure, but all in all I suspect I used an entire cup of flour, so twice as much as the recipe called for.
I have never 'drained' ricotta cheese before. The recipe called for 'fresh ricotta cheese' and I just bought a tub from the grocery store. I put it in a colander over a bowl for an hour but there were only a few drips in the bottom of the bowl even though I smooshed it with a spoon. There was a bit of residual ricotta on the underside of the colander.
I didn't 'wilt' my spinach leaves in a pot of boiling water, I just washed the spinach off and then wilted it in a non-stick fry pan for a couple of minutes on the stove. Cooled it and squeezed the moisture out after.
I used fresh basil, and when I'd finished cooking the Gnudi I just put them in a pot of Fresh Tomato Basil sauce that I had simmering beside.
Sprinkled the parmesan cheese over top and presented 19 of the little dumplings to my son who inhaled them and was disappointed I had frozen the other half of the batch! :) Indeed, they were pillowy and they were fun and they are totally going on our regular menu rotation.
So in closing....If you are in the moodie for some good foodie, try Dahlia's Gnudi. :) Tee Hee.
Thanks Dahlia for a great recipe!
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lovebreezy 12 years ago said:

Thank you for the education. Very nice review and photo. I'm just not a fan of gnocchi and I love potatoes. This spinach version appeals to me.
Love your avatar!

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chuckieb 12 years ago said:

I love to google info Lovebreezy. It's what I do! :) To be honest, I've never had Gnocchi. My son loves it and it's he I made the Gnudi for as well. My Avatar pic was taken in downtown Ottawa where I live during "Rideau Canal" days....a festival. The blow up Beaver was pretty impressive. :)

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mommyluvs2cook 12 years ago said:

Good research job ;) Those look awesome and I would love to give them a try one day!

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

I've been gone a couple of days. I need to catch up with what's been going on around here lately. :)
I love the picture! You really did your homework. I've never had gnocchi and I've never (until now) heard of gnudi. It looks fabulous.

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

Chuckie, that sounds like a ton of work. Big thumbs up on the Gnocchi/gnudi info. I dont think I have ever had either. It sure sounds good. Great pic, too

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