Has anyone ever made Malfatti? (Italian Spinach Dumplings)

[The empressof all]

I think I'm going to give this a try this week. It looks yummy.

..."The spinach requires the most work, because you have to cook it, and then remove as much water as you can from the leafs. This is not an easy task. But watery spinach will lead to your dumplings falling apart, so it's a neccessity.

4 lbs spinach, washed with stems removed
2 cups ricotta cheese, mashed
2 eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 cup flour
5 T butter, melted ..."


http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/08/15/malfatti

I wonder if I can sucessfully substitute the flour with carbquick or almond flour?

[NMDemDist2]

1. i have two heavy diaper style cloths, wonder if sandwiching the spinach then

using my heavy rolling pin would be effective at getting the spinach dry ??

just a flash i had while reading the directions.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. That looks good ...... the best way to get the water out of the spinach is to use a cloth .......

...... we used to use kitchen towels back in the day. They were commercially laundered and pretty much sterile and tasteless. Put the drained spinach in the center of the towel and then roll it up and wring it out **hard**. You might have to do this in batches.

After doing this, the towel is useless unless you favor white towels with bright green centers ..... think tie dyed!

[The empressof all]

3. I use the Kitchen Towel trick too!

I use a lot of spinach here so I've tried every trick and the towel works the best. I've never tried these kinds of dumplings but from what I understand dry spinach is the key in keeping them from falling apart.

[hippywife]

4. Never even heard of it but

sounds incredibly good! Thanx for posting it.

[The empressof all]

5. I know...I saw a demo of it on my local PBS cooks

When you make them...put them in the fridge or leave them out on the counter for a bit to dry them out before you boil them. That will help prevent them from falling apart. They cook for 5 minutes. They don't always float to the top to let you know they are done.

Let me know if you make them...I'm gonna try to do them this week.

I thought I was in the know with all things Italian but apparently these are all the rage in Sonoma....I know nothing of CA. Italian they're a breed unto themselves.

The lady on the PBS Cooks show served them with a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with some cream mixed in. I think regular tomato or Pink sauce would be great too.

[hippywife]

6. It'll probably be

next weekend before I can try them now. I just emailed the recipe to the husband to see if he's game. I'm sure he will be tho.

[spindrifter]

7. I wonder how putting the cooked spinach in a salad spinner

would work...

[The empressof all]

8. That will just get off the surface liquid

You just gotta use brute strength and squeeze the spinach out. There's no other way. The towel method is the least messy in my experience.

[grasswire]

9. I have dried spinach extremely well..

..by putting drained spinach in a wide skillet over medium heat and stirring stirring until the water is gone. I do that when I make spanikopita.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. That sounds so good.

Bookmarked.

[The empressof all]

11. I'm so excited!

I'm going to try making these today.

[eleny]

12. 4 lbs of spinach

Wow, that sounds like it could fill a shopping cart!

I hope they come out great. Those ingredients sound like they'll be terrific. I like them all.

[Callalily]

13. Here's the recipe I use,

it calls for Swiss chard rather than Spinach. To drain the chard, I twist the (ahem) hell out of it using cheese cloth.

The buttered sage part is a super yummy touch.

I find this recipe very labor intense, but definitely worth the effort.


Anna Klinger's Malfatti (gnocchi gnudi)

1 lb ricotta cheese (use good quality)
kosher salt
4 bunches swiss chard (about 4 pounds)
8 ounces butter
1/4 cup flour, plus more for shaping
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large egg yolks
1 large egg
fresh ground black pepper
24 fresh sage leaves
parmesan cheese, for serving

1. Drain the ricotta in a sieve lined with cheesecloth overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Measure out 1 1/4 cups.
3. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
4. Trim the chard, removing all the stems and large ridges.
5. Add half to boiling water and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
6. Fish out and plunge into a bowl of ice water.
7. Repeat.
8. Squeeze out chard with your hands.
9. On a dish towel, spread the chard in a circle the size of a pie.
10. Roll up the towel and have someone help you twist the end to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
11. (This step is very important... wet chard makes for sodden malfatti) Pulse in a food processor until fine.
12. Squeeze out in a dish towel once more, until very dry.
13. You will have about one cup.
14. Melt half the butter.
15. Mix chard and ricotta.
16. Add melted butter, 1/4 cup flour, 1 heaping teaspoon salt and nutmeg and mix again.
17. Drop in egg yolks and egg, season with pepper and stir again.
18. Sprinkle a cutting board with flour.
19. Shape into 1-ounce balls, about 1 Tablespoon each, dropping them on the cutting board.
20. You should have 25-30 balls.
21. Put a teaspoon of flour into a narrow wineglass.
22. Drop in a ball and swirl until it forms an oval.
23. Repeat (you may need to change the glass).
24. You may freeze them at this point.
25. Do not thaw: take directly from freezer and place into boiling water.
26. Boil for about 10 minutes.
27. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
28. Drop in the malfatti and cook until they float, about 8 minutes.
29. Put remaining butter into a small saute pan and heat until bubbling, shaking the pan.
30. When it smells nutty, add sage and cook for 30 seconds.
31. Season with salt.
32. Drain malfatti and place on plates.
33. Spoon on the butter and sage.
34. Grate fresh Parmesan over each plate.

[The empressof all]

14. Well, that didn't work

My test one fell apart in the water. I got the spinach really really dry so I'm not sure what I did wrong. I threw the rest of them in the oven and I'm waiting now to see what happens. I'm disappointed.

[NMDemDist2]

16. ....

:hug:

[eleny]

17. Here's a You Tube video in English

Maybe there's some tips. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RExnpoRg4Q

[likesmountains 52]

15. My recipe calls for putting them in the oven after you boil them.. 350

for i5 minutes...topped with a bit of melted butter and grated parmesan...Keep trying! They are delicious.

[Vinca]

18. I made gnudis once following Giada what's-her-name's recipe.

They were really good. I just put butter and a little parmesan on them. The oven idea sounds interesting - next time I'll try that.