Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Daring Cooks Challenge May 2009 - Gnocchi di Ricotta



This is the first ever Daring Cooks Challenge, and it feels good to have joined the Daring Kitchen community just in time to participate!


The recipe of Gnocchi di Ricotta was brought by Ivonne of Creampuffs in Venice and Lisa of La Mia Cucina, the two founders of the Daring Bakers Challenge.
They picked it in The Zuni Cafè Cookbook .


The recipe itself is very simple: take 1lb/450gr of ricotta, mix it with 2 large cold eggs, 1tbsp/15gr of butter and 1/2oz/about 15gr of grated Parmigiano. Spices, herbs and/or lemon zest are optional.

Form the gnocchi on a bed of flour (they're very delicate and need to be handled very lightly), boil them for a few minutes and then you can use them straight away or sautè them in a sauce of your choice.




We were incouraged to make our own ricotta, but spoiled as I am, I have a lot of cheese factories nearby, so ricotta is great tasting, available and cheap. By the way, ricotta isn't technically a cheese, because it doesn't come from milk directly, but from whey, the residue of production of some other, non acidic, cheese.


Ready as it is, it still has to be dried, or you will fail miserably and find yourself with the mess of the Big Frittata Of Ricotta (been there, done that). So it's better to leave the ricotta on a cheesecloth or on a strainer in the fridge, overnight.





After mixing, I preferred to form the gnocchi not by hand, but using a decorating bag to lay down those "worms" and then cut them with a serrated knife. It helps if you leave the ready and filled bag in the fridge for awhile.


After boiling them I left them apart while preparing the Parmigiano&Saffran coupelles in which I meant to serve them.





I had always read about how easy it is to make them, how you're just supposed to sprinkle two tablespoons of grated cheese in a pan and Voilà!, the coupelle is ready to be formed!


Mine were not made by themselves: if I used a spatula or some palette knife to take them up, they would just curl up like a vampire under the sun. If I took them with my fingers (I take the *Daring* part very literally!) I would feel a lot of pain (who guessed?).


Until it just dawned on me that parchment paper is such a good thing that if you just put a piece of it on the pan, and the cheese on that, you are done in a matter of seconds.


Gnocchi were sautèd in some butter with asparagus and ham, placed in the Parmigiano coupelles and that was the end of it.





As I did this early in the month, I kept thinking of some other version, and I came up with two variations using spinach and saffran, that would have to be matched with saffran and spinach butter, respectively.


I had the idea of styling it as a positive/negative photography, I've had the image on my mind for weeks.
Thing is, butter turns out to get a very different texture if you mix it with saffran rather than with spinach, so my idea didn't see the light.



Not too bad for a blooper, though.

21 comments:

  1. Wow-- your gnocchi came out so well. They look delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great effort on this first challenge. I just love the "cheese cups" you did. Great tips about +/- photo images. Nice colours in the last pix. Simple instructions also.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Both versions look and sound great, well done.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Both of your gnocchis came out perfect, as did your coupelles - what great idea to add saffron. I made a parmesan bowl, but it kind of seflated :( lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like the way you presented your gnocchi. Very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're so lucky to be surrounded by good cheese! And I love the sound of asparagus, butter, ham and gnocchi! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mmm, your gnocchi looks amazing!! I love all of the flavours you made, they sound wonderful =D.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So pretty! And what a great trick on using a decorating bag.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very beautiful interpretation. The flavors sounds awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your gnoochi looks so delicious!! Your tips were helpful and it inspires me to attempt this myself!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely flavors - they look delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  12. The Parmigiano&Saffran coupelles are amazing! Great presentation and photography!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an interesting idea to put the batter in a pastry bag! I would never have thought of that! I love your presentation and the combo with the asparagus and ham sounds amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the coupelles! And your gnocchi looks great too.
    I also would never have thought to put the batter in a pastry bag - ingenious!
    Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love your coupelles! i didn't realize how relatively simple they are to create, I may have to give them a whirl sometime! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am a legal alien too, but in reverse!

    I love your versions of the gnocchi, wonderful job. I waited until the last minute and mine were a disaster. I will try them again soon!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Such delicate coupelles! Beautiful job!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your gnocchi look gorgeous! I really love the cheerful saffron ones.

    ReplyDelete
  19. So stunning-what a presentation! Love the parmesan cups!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your gnocchi are gorgeous, I'm so impressed! I'm a beginner cook so I tend to forgo the presentation side of cooking (so far), but your photos really show how much it can enhance the dish. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anna, one of my dreams are the parmisan cups.

    p

    ReplyDelete