Ricotta Gnocchi with Homemade Marinara

photo by sara tady ©

My husband and I LOVE gnocchi.  I was always under the impression it would be nearly impossible to make.  WRONG!  It turns out it's one of the most simple things ever.  I made mine with ricotta cheese instead of the traditional potato gnocchi.  I'm going to try the potato version another time.  This was so easy and it was ready in under 30 minutes.  Crazy!  I accompanied it with a simple marinara which I ALWAYS make myself.  I served this with a simple mixed green salad.  Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:

1 small container of full fat ricotta cheese

3/4 cup or so of flour

1 tbsp of garlic salt

1 egg

1 can of chopped or crushed tomatoes (I use fire roasted)

1 small can of tomato sauce

1 clove of garlic, grated/chopped finely

1/2 cup of finely chopped onion

Fresh basil

1 tsp of red pepper flake

salt and pepper

Directions:

Gnocchi:

1. In a medium bowl, combine about half the container of ricotta cheese, flour, egg and garlic salt. Mix into a dough.  Add more flour if need be, but not too much!  Careful not to over-mix.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt.

3. Sprinkle some flour onto counter/ cutting board. Place the dough on top of flour and divide into 4 sections.

4. Roll each section of dough into long strips - about the thickness of a bread stick

5. Starting from 1 end, cut the dough strips into 1 inch noodles. I made the imprints of a fork into each one of mine to help the sauce stick.

6. Drop into boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes.  The noodles will float to the top when they are done. Strain.

Marinara Sauce:

1. In a medium skillet, add a bit of olive oil, garlic, red pepper flake and onion to low-medium heat. Saute.

2. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper.  Go ahead and sprinkle in any dried herbs (parsley, oregano).

Combine cooked gnocchi and marinara sauce.  Top with fresh basil.

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