Ricotta Gnocchi with English Peas, Spring Onions, and Pea Tendrils
Source: Sascha Weiss, The Plant Cafe Organic
Recipe Type: Entrees | Seasons: Spring
This recipe was demonstrated for Foodwise’s (formerly CUESA’s) Market to Table program on March 31, 2012.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Gnocchi
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
16 ounces ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons lemon zest (using a microplane)
Pinch black pepper
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup organic all-purpose flour
Vegetables
3 cups shelled English peas
Several bunches of spring onions (enough to yield 3 cups chopped)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
Pinch of chile flakes
1 cup pea tendrils, washed and dried
Shaved Pecorino cheese
PREPARATION
Combine the Parmesan, ricotta, lemon zest, black pepper, sea salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
Add the flour and mix into the cheese mixture until it is just incorporated (take care not to over mix). Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead for 1 minute.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a long “snake” and cut into gnocchi-sized pieces. Hold a fork in one hand and place a gnocchi against the tines of the fork. Using your thumb, press in and down the length of the fork. The gnocchi should curl after coming off the fork.
Cook the gnocchi in a pot of salted boiling water. When the gnocchi rise to the surface, they are cooked. Remove and drain.
To make the vegetables, blanch the peas in salted water, drain, and cool in an ice bath.
Trim off the roots of the spring onions and slice them into ⅓ -inch pieces. Wash them in a bowl of cold water, taking care to lift the onion slices out and leaving any dirt behind. Drain.
Heat about the olive oil in a sauté pan, add the garlic and spring onions, and cook over low heat until the onion is caramelized. Add the cooked gnocchi, peas, and a few splashes of cooking water; cook until everything is heated through. Season with salt, pepper, and chile flakes. Add the pea tendrils during the last 30 seconds of cooking.
Divide the gnocchi and vegetable mixture between four bowls and top with shaved Pecorino cheese.
