Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

ricotta gnocchi in brown butter sage sace

Recipe by
Susan Pagano
Mills River, NC

I watch many cooking competition programs. This recipe was the one Victoria Lapresi used to get onto Master Chef this year. I have never tried to make fresh pasta but this one looked so good I decided to try it. I have also never had Gnocci before and I think I need more pasta-making lessons as my Gnocci looked nothing like the photo. Also, there was flour everywhere - my kitchen looked like there had been an explosion! The meal was, however, extremely tasty. My husband loved it and he's 100% Sicilian so I must have done OK.

yield 4 serving(s)
prep time 45 Min
cook time 15 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For ricotta gnocchi in brown butter sage sace

  • 8 oz
    whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 2 lg
    eggs
  • 1/2 c
    grated parmesan plus more for topping
  • 1/2 tsp
    salt
  • 1 c
    all purpose flour plus more for surface
  • SAUCE
  • 3 oz
    pancetta diced small
  • 1/2 stick
    unsalted butter
  • 3-4
    fresh sage leaves
  • 1/2 c
    frozen peas thawed
  • 1 Tbsp
    fresh lemon zest
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

How To Make ricotta gnocchi in brown butter sage sace

  • 1
    In a large bowl combine the ricotta, eggs, parmesan cheese, salt and flour.
  • 2
    Knead until just incorporated into a soft dough (mine was very soft). Do not overwork or gnocchi will become tough.
  • 3
    On a well floured surface shape the dough into two ropes about 1"x18" inches each. (I had lots of trouble with the long ropes so I made 4 shorter ones).
  • 4
    Using a floured butter knife slice into 1" pieces. With the tip of your index finger indent each piece as this will later help sauce stick to the pasta (I dipped my finger into water before indenting each gnocchi so my finger wouldn't stick to the dough)
  • 5
    Bring a large pot of boiling, salted water to a rolling boil.
  • 6
    Add gnocchi, in small batches (I added to the batch one at a time so they would remain separate) and boil until they float, about 2 or 3 minutes.
  • 7
    Meanwhile brown pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat . (I browned the pancetta first and let it sit until the gnocchi was in the pot and re-heated when adding next ingredients)
  • 8
    Add butter and sage leaves.
  • 9
    Cook until butter begins to brown - about two minutes.
  • 10
    With a slotted spoon remove gnocchi from the pot and drop into the skillet.
  • 11
    Lightly brown on both sides, tossing often, for about 3 minutes.
  • 12
    Add peas and lemon zest, toss and cook until heated through.
  • 13
    Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
  • 14
    Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
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