Spinach gnocchi with butter and sage
By OcadoLife
Published on 07 December 2021
Did you know that Spinach Gnocchi is a type of dumpling? It combines potato and pasta flour with egg and cheese to create the dough. The spinach and sage leaves add an earthy touch to the taste, but make sure to drain the spinach as much as possible before adding it to your mixture so you avoid adding excess water. You might be more familiar with dumplings in Asian cuisine, but Italian gnocchi dates back to the Roman period. It’s traditionally eaten as a starter or side dish, so you can enjoy more than one plate of delicious Italian food with dinner.Time and servings
1 hr 25 minsTotal time
4Servings
25 minsPrep time
1 hrCooking time
Ingredients
- 1 large of egg yolk
- 750 g of floury potatoes, such as maris piper or king edward
- 200 g of spinach, washed
- 3 tbsp of grana padano or parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 100 g of pasta flour, plus extra for dusting
- 0.25 tsp of salt
- 70 g of salted butter
- 12 leaves of sage
Method
Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Prick the potatoes with a fork a few times and bake for 1 hr, or until cooked through and tender.Step 2
Meanwhile, blitz the spinach in a food processor until finely chopped. Tip into a clean tea towel or muslin and twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.Step 3
For pillowy gnocchi, it’s best to make the dough while the potatoes are still warm. Once baked, carefully cut the potatoes in half. When they are just cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the skins and push it through a potato ricer or sieve, letting the fluffy, lump-free potato fall into a large bowl. Add the spinach, cheese and flour, and mix lightly. Now add the egg yolk and gently combine to make a dough, working the mixture as little as possible.Step 4
Put a pan of salted water on to boil, then lightly dust a work surface with flour and divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a long strip, about 2cm in diameter, and cut each strip into 3cm-long gnocchi. You can leave the gnocchi like this, or roll each one over the tines of a fork to create grooves.Step 5
Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When it starts to foam, add the sage and cook until the leaves are crispy and the butter smells nutty. Remove from the heat.Step 6
Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in the boiling water for 2-3 mins, until they float to the top of the pan. Lift them from the pan with a slotted spoon and lower them into the frying pan with the sage butter. Swirl the frying pan back over the heat, to make sure the butter gets to all the gnocchi, then serve with a scattering of grated cheese.