Gluten Free Ricotta Gnocchi with Quick Tomato Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)
• 2 large eggs
• Kosher or fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4-1/2 cup potato starch or gluten free all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small onion (finely diced)
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
• 1 (35-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes (drained and sauce reserved)
• 6-7 fresh basil leaves (finely chopped)
• Kosher or fine sea salt
• Black pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Place ricotta cheese in a strainer or wrap in some cheese cloth and put in a colander and set over a bowl to catch the liquid. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the ricotta and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

2. 2

   Mix the drained ricotta with the Parmesan cheese, eggs, small pinch of salt, and nutmeg until well blended. Starting with ¼ cup, add potato starch to the mixture and blend well to form the gnocchi batter.

3. 3

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop a big spoonful of the batter into the boiling water (I use a 1-tablespoon ice cream scoop). Cook until it swells and rises to the top, about 2-3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove from the water and gently push it with your finger. If it falls apart, you need to add more potato starch to your batter. Repeat until one gnocchi comes out perfect. At this point, prepare the sauce, reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water and keep the rest of the cooking water warm until time to cook the remaining gnocchi.

4. 4

   Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and crushed red pepper and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 7 or 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes and break them up with a spatula into rough chunks. Add ¼ cup of reserved cooking water and the reserved sauce from the can of tomatoes. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend the sauce either with an immersion blender or in a regular blender until almost smooth but not pureed. If blending in a regular blender, remove the plastic insert from the top and hold a kitchen towel over the top to keep it from exploding. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more of the reserved cooking water. Return the sauce to the pan and stir in the chopped basil. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Keep warm while cooking the gnocchi.

5. 5

   Return the large pan of salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi batter into the boiling water with either a large spoon or small ice cream scoop – do this in 2 or 3 batches so there are only about 8-12 gnocchi in the pan at a time. Cook until the gnocchi swell and float to the top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, spider skimmer or mesh strainer with a long handle. Blot with a clean tea towel and place on a plate. Keep warm until all the gnocchi are cooked.

6. 6

   Ladle some sauce on the plate, spread it out a bit and place 4-6 gnocchi on top. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.