Easy Ricotta Gnocchi

I remember the first time I tried Gnocchi, it was at a little Italian place in Park City, Utah. My husband and I went there for an anniversary dinner one year. Or was it for my birthday.......I fear I am losing my mind slowly. I usually have a pretty good memory but lately I haven't been remembering much of anything lately. 

I always like to try new dishes when we go out, and gnocchi was something I don't think I have heard of at the time. 

I loved it! We both loved it. 

Dave ate about half my meal cause it was better then the dish he got.

The gnocchi I got at the restaurant, which I can't for the life of me remember the name of (refer back to the comment of me losing my mind). The gnocchi was made with potato, this gnocchi is made with delicious ricotta cheese. 

It is a very simple recipe, it took my a half hour from start to finish to make this.

We have tried another recipe for ricotta gnocchi, it was very dense and just wasn't quite how I remember gnocchi being. 

I really liked this gnocchi recipe, the hubby commented that it was a lot better then the other gnocchi he made. It was nice and light and a was closer to how I remember gnocchi being.

Easy Ricotta Gnocchi

1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese 

1 large egg

1 tsp olive oil 

approx. 2 cups all-purpose flour 

3/4 tsp salt 

10 cranks fresh cracked pepper 

 In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, olive oil, egg, salt, and freshly cracked pepper.

 Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a soft sticky dough (about 1.5 cups)

 Begin boiling a large pot of water. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in about another 1/2 cup of flour or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. The dough should still be very soft in texture.

 Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece out into a rope about 1 inch thick. Cut the rope into 1 inch sections. If desired, roll each piece of dough on the back of a fork to give it a ridged texture.

 When the water is boiling vigorously, drop the dough pieces into the water. As the gnocchi boil they will begin to rise to the surface. Once all of them are floating on top, let them boil for about 30 seconds to one minute more to ensure thorough cooking. Drain in a colander.

 Top drained gnocchi with your favorite sauce or garlic butter, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!

Recipe From: Budget Bytes

I liked to pair my gnocchi with the homemade Alfredo sauce I got from The Pioneer Woman. 

Alfredo Sauce

1 cup heavy cream 

1 stick butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan or skillet, warm butter and cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Grate Parmesan cheese and place half of it into a large serving bowl. Pour warm butter/cream mixture over the top.

Drain pasta (or gnocchi) and immediately pour it into the bowl.

Toss a couple of times, then sprinkle in the other half of the Parmesan.

Toss to combine, thinning with pasta water if necessary.