Ricotta gnudis, roasted garlic and dried tomatoes

Our dear Loreto, food blogger from Sabores de Colores, takes us to Italy today, but she doesn't do it with a typical Italian pasta recipe, but rather she presents us with a delicious gnudis recipe. To prepare it, as you can see in the photographs, she used the De Buyer Mineral B cast iron frying pan . Are you curious to discover this recipe with an Italian flavour? Here it is:

Do you know gnudis? Probably not, but I'll tell you: they are typical of Tuscany, Italy, and are ravioli but without pasta, or gnocchi without potatoes. Their main ingredient is ricotta (Spanish cottage cheese) and they are so easy to prepare that it's like making the filling of fresh pasta and cooking it and serving it as if it were pasta.

In short, these are ricotta cheese balls that we can flavour however we like and serve however we like. I'll tell you how to prepare them and also different ways to serve them in addition to the delicious traditional butter and sage sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Gnudis (serves 4):

1 head of garlic

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped

500 gr ricotta

80 gr grated parmesan

2-3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Virgin olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

Salt

250 gr semolina

Butter and sage sauce:

35 gr butter

15 sage leaves

Grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

ELABORATION:

1. Wrap the garlic head in silver foil previously sprayed with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Let it cool without opening the foil that wraps the garlic.

2. Place the ricotta cheese in a fine strainer and press to remove any whey that may be released. Remove to a bowl.

3. Add the Parmesan cheese to the ricotta, add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 4 roasted garlic cloves (the amount is up to each person's taste, if you want it to have more roasted garlic flavour you can add more), 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs and the teaspoon of nutmeg. Mix all the ingredients well and adjust the salt and pepper.

4. Next, sprinkle the bottom of a baking tray with semolina, creating a thin layer. Place the gnudis on top of it, making them with two spoons or a small ice cream scoop. Use these utensils to make sure that all the gnudis are the same size. Roll each portion between the palm of your hands and if you see that the mixture sticks to your hands, you can add a little more breadcrumbs. Finally, cover them with semolina and let them rest for at least 4 hours in the fridge.

5. After the resting time has passed, place a pot with plenty of salted water on the stove and bring it to the boil. When it boils, cook the gnudis in batches for about 2 minutes or until they float.

6. Once the gnudis are ready, we will take them out of the pot directly to the pan , where we will have melted the butter with the sage. It is important that when you transfer the gnudis to the pan you take a little of the cooking water with you to finish the sauce. Finally, sprinkle with the parmesan and toasted pine nuts, move the pan a little in a circular motion to thicken the sauce and serve immediately.

* You can use gnudis in an infinite number of ways. We have fried them at home and they are a delicious appetizer. Served with your favorite jam, they will leave your guests speechless at Christmas. You can also serve them in a soup or gratinated with a light bechamel sauce.

I recommend that if you make them with sauce, you accompany them with a good arugula salad, it goes wonderfully with it.