Ricotta Gnocchi with Marinara
This terrific recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi with Marinara is sure to please your family! Simple and comforting flavors make this a must-try meal!
Homemade Gnocchi is easy to make and will elevate your pasta night to a most delicious level of excellence!!!
Why You Must Make
- With our household size dwindling, and with the picky palates outnumbering the adventuresome ones, there is an occasional French Fridays with Dorie recipe that gets a bye week. The Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes would raise at least a couple of eyebrows (and fuzzy male ones at that). I’m not sure making a quarter recipe would be worth the effort…as I’d need to make another meal for the other ⅔ of the family.
- So I whipped up some long overdue ricotta gnocchi that I had promised Katie, who is basically a vegetarian who doesn’t like vegetables.
- Bill was lifting pot lids, hunting for some Italian sausage or some sort of meat, but I assured him a good sprinkling of Parm would give him some protein…and that even carnivores can take a night off. By the end of the meal, we all agreed that this was the epitome of Italian comfort food.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Egg, Salt, Olive Oil, Sugar, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Dried Oregano
- “00” Pasta Flour – I used All-Purpose Flour
- Ricotta Cheese – Use full-fat
- Garlic Cloves
- Tomato Paste
- Chopped Canned Tomatoes – 53-ounce can
- Fresh Basil
Recipe Tips
- I used Katherine Martinelli’s gnocchi recipe…and tweaked it just a smidge. The marinara was a wing-it-type recipe. I’m loving the sweetness of Pomi’s boxed tomatoes; they make a world of difference with their quality.
- I tried my hand at making the striated markings on my pasta with a fork. One of the tutorials I read mentioned making a practice batch to get the hang of it. Yup, good advice, as I finally had my groove (haha) by the end. I’d make them smaller next time (and follow the ½-inch suggested length more literally) and maybe fine-tune my technique.
- You can also just cut and boil without this extra step.
- Make sure to cook them in salted water as this will help the salt infuse into the pasta. Salting after cooking will never taste as good as boiling in well-salted water.
- Try this Homemade Ravioli, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are two options. I say NOH-kee, but NYOH-kee is also acceptable.
It is usually cooked in boiling water (I prefer well-salted water), then served with a savory sauce or simply with butter and Parmesan cheese.
Gnocchi is the Italian word for dumplings.
These dumplings can be made from potatoes, all-purpose or semolina flour, but may also use ricotta cheese, bread, pumpkin, or spinach.
You May Also Like
- Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
- Penne alla Vodka
- Italian Meat Sauce
- All my Best Pasta Recipes
- Plus, more Meatless Meals
Ricotta Gnocchi with Marinara
A spectacular ricotta gnocchi topped with marinara
Ingredients
For Gnocchi
- 12 ounces Ricotta
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (use "00" pasta flour if you have it...I did not), divided
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
For Marinara
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 whole garlic cloves
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 53 ounces chopped canned tomatoes
- Large pinch of sugar
- 3 basil sprigs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Mix ricotta, 1 cup of flour, egg, and salt in a large bowl. Add up to another full cup of flour, ¼ cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon, till you have a smooth, not too sticky dough.
- I added ¾ cup more, then kneaded briefly on a well-floured countertop till it all comes together, is smooth, and slightly elastic.
- Form it into a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Cut the ball into 8 wedges.
- Roll out the first wedge into a long snake on a lightly floured surface, to about the diameter of your finger. Cut into ½ inch pieces, roll each over the back surface of a fork if desired, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Continue with the rest of the dough.
- Cook gnocchi in a large pot of boiling, well-salted water, for 3-5 minutes. They will float to the surface (mine did so quickly, continue to cook for at least a couple of minutes to ensure they are done).
- Drain and serve with marinara or your favorite pasta sauce.
- For marinara, heat olive oil and cook garlic cloves till slightly golden. Add onions and cook till soft. Add tomato paste and mix to combine and cook briefly.
- Carefully add tomatoes (oil will splatter), a pinch of sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove garlic cloves and serve over gnocchi or your favorite pasta.
Notes
Gnocchi adapted from Katherine Martinelli
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 386Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 1067mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 7gSugar: 9gProtein: 15g