If you have, then you know that the process can be tricky at best. What you want are light, fluffy dumpling pillows. What we often get is dense, chewy dough balls. Gnocchi with ricotta cheese is much more forgiving than the potato version. The dough holds together better, and the result is likely to be more pillow-like than chewy. I was taught this approach by a wonderful local Italian chef, Biba Caggiano, who showed me that the trick to a light gnocchi was in how you rolled them out. You want a light touch, gently stretching the dough outwards as you roll it into shape. A heavy touch will compress the dough. The sauce is a simple one, just tomatoes and goat cheese with a hint of garlic. But you can use any favorite sauce with the gnocchi. Recipe adapted from one by Sacramento chef Biba Caggiano. Let spinach cool enough to touch, then squeeze as much moisture as you can out of it. You can also use a potato ricer if you have one to squeeze the excess moisture out of the spinach. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, mix in the remaining ricotta and the Parmesan cheese. Stir a pinch of nutmeg into the flour. Add the flour in by hand, starting with a half of the flour. Mix everything with your hands until the mixture holds together as a dough. When the dough is smooth and pliable, and still just a little bit sticky, divide it into 4 portions, each the size of an orange. This is the tricky part. You don’t want to put so much pressure so that you compress the dough, but you do need enough pressure to create a rope of dough. The trick is to stretch the dough sideways as you are rolling. Once the segment you are working on gets to be about a foot long, you may find it easier to cut it in half, and then start working on that smaller segment. Roll the dough out until the roll is about the size of a middle finger. (Note that if your hands or the board is a little too floured, you may not have enough traction between your skin and the dough to easily stretch it sideways.) Cut each roll into 1-inch pieces. This is a pretty quick motion, the result is an indentation of the fork tines on one side of the gnocchi, and an indentation of your fingertip on the other side. Place the gnocchi on a lightly floured cookie sheet. At this point they can be cooked, or kept in the refrigerator several hours or overnight. Once the salt has dissolved, gently drop the gnocchi in the water, one by one. Try to do this in a way that the gnocchi are not falling in on top of each other, but rest on the bottom of the pan in a single layer. As the gnocchi cooks, they will rise to the surface of the water after a couple minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the risen gnocchi from the pot, place in a serving bowl. Sometimes the gnocchi can stick a little at the bottom. If you suspect this, nudge them a little to unstick them. As you remove some gnocchi, you can add a few more to the pan. The Sauce Add the tomatoes (include any juices from the can) all at once (careful, they may cause the oil to splatter as the tomatoes hit the pan). As soon as the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt. Stir occasionally. Use a potato masher to break up any solid pieces of tomato, you want a rough purée. Serve gnocchi with the sauce and extra grated Parmesan. Links: Zuni Cafe ricotta gnocchi - a different take on ricotta gnocchi, with frying the gnocchi in a sage butter
