Lemon ricotta gnocchi with greens

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I was interested in it for a few reasons:

1. I’m fairly obsessed with anything involving lemon and ricotta (pancakes anyone?)
2. I wanted to do something interesting with pea tendrils
3. I’ve never tried to make gnocchi before so it sounded like a good chall-enge!

Gnocchi dough ball

It did require two trips to the grocery store, which would have been three if I actually included the peas that were in the original recipe. My first trip to the store involved picking up the lemon and ricotta. I assumed I had flour and frozen peas or edamame (I was already thinking about substituting in edamame for the peas). I got home and realized I didn’t have enough flour so I incorporated a second trip to the grocery store (a different one) with another errand and this time I grabbed the flour but not the frozen peas/edamame. At that point, a third trip seemed excessive so I decided to forgot the peas.

If you are going to embark on this gnocchi adventure yourself, I feel like I must warn you about a few things. First of all, be prepared to make a mess and a lot of dishes. Next, “a lightly floured surface” required quite a bit of flour…otherwise the dough was a sticky mess. They really do float to the surface when they are done cooking (and they cook really fast). And lastly, I had no idea how to get the nice little groove marks in them. I tried using a fork, which didn’t really work too well, and since I wasn’t sure what the point was, I gave up after a few.

Ready to cook!

I made some modifications to the original recipe, which I’ve incorporated in my version below. I used at least 4 cups of greens – all of the pea tendrils and dandelion greens from my CSA, which would be about 1/2 bunch each. I think you could use even more, but I tend to like a lot of veg; perhaps this would have been balanced out if I had included the cup of fresh English peas that I omitted. I did use the full 4 Tablespoons of olive oil, and I don’t think you need that much.

I don’t think I’ll be getting any points for appearance with this one, but they actually tasted pretty good. As I was attempting to roll out the dough I did not have high hopes, so I was pleasantly surprised!

Lemon ricotta gnocchi with greens
Serves: 4
Source: Sweet Paul via Pinterest

Ingredients

More greens needed?

1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
Zest from 1 large lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (and more to sprinkle)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cups greens (spinach, pea tendrils, dandelion greens, beet greens, etc)

Directions
1. Mix together ricotta, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, flour, garlic scapes, and egg in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Up close and personal

2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Working 1 piece at a time, roll into a thin sausage shape. Repeat with the other pieces. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1″ pieces.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, cook the gnocchi. Each piece is done when it floats to the surface. Transfer to a plate. Reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta water.

4. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the greens and cook for 2 minutes. Add the gnocchi and reserved pasta water (as needed) and gently toss with the peas. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving platter and sprinkle with Parmesan. Enjoy!