My Nanna is the queen of gluten free pasta, which, as many of you would know, is actually pretty tricky to perfect. Because of the lack of elasticity in the dough, it can be difficult to handle.
Unsurprisingly, my Nanna gets it right every time. She never writes down or follows a recipe. She measures it all by sight and feel and comes out with perfect results every time. When I asked her about her ricotta gnocchi, she merely said,
'Put the ricotta and some parmesan cheese in a bowl and then add enough flour to bring it together'.
Luckily, having watched her make it, and having made it with her many times, I was able to measure out the quantities this time so I could share this recipe with you.
For all you coeliacs out there, I promise you will love this gnocchi. Even my brother, Alex, who assumes that anything gluten free is flavour free, agreed that he could barely taste the difference between the regular and gluten free gnocchi that I made. Trust me when I say that this is a huge compliment coming from Alex.
We ate our gnocchi with Bolognese sauce (made by my charming husband) but of course, you could serve them with any kind of sauce you want; a simple tomato sauce, sage and burnt butter, pesto- whatever you're in the mood for!
SERVES 4
500g ricotta
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated
250g plain gluten free flour*, plus a few tablespoons extra for dusting
Place the ricotta in a medium sized bowl. Add the parmesan and mix it through. Add the flour and mix with a spoon until it starts to come together.
Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and gently bring it all together. The dough will be very soft and slightly sticky.
Divide the dough into 6-8 portions. Take each portion and roll it out into a long, skinny sausage shape and then cut into gnocchi about 2cm long.
Dust a fork with flour and then very gently roll each 2cm piece down the length of the fork so you are left with lovely ridges (perfect for sauce to cling to!)
Dust a tray with flour and spread the gnocchi out onto the tray as you cut and roll them, ensuring they do not stick to each other.
Set aside in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use them.
Cook the gnocchi for 3-4 minutes in a large pot of salted boiling water. You will notice they will start to float to the top when they are ready. Gently remove from the pot with a slotted spoon.
Serve gnocchi immediately with your favourite pasta sauce.
*I used Dove's Gluten Free Plain White Flour Blend (available in the UK) which is a mix of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat flour. Back in Australia, my Nanna usually uses White Wings Gluten Free Plain Flour. I know there are quite a variety of gluten free flours available so taste may vary slightly.