Each week I contribute to the Whole Foods Market Cooking Boulder website expanding on one of the 10 Ways Tuesday ideas. This week I cooked and photographed a recipe for Gnudi with Swiss Chard, Rosemary & Aleppo Pepper. For the full article with tips on making gnudi (including 3 lessons I learned), click on the icon below.

Gnudi is winter comfort food. Countless variations on these ricotta dumplings can be found in cookbooks, but I was drawn to a recipe for gnudi in Jamie magazine for its simplicity. If you’ve never made fresh pasta at home before, gnudi is a great way to get your feet wet. You get the experience of making dough by hand without the need for special equipment. For this recipe, ricotta and Parmesan are rolled into a dumpling with chopped Swiss chard. After a good night’s rest in the fridge the gnudi are cooked in simmering water for about 3 minutes, then served with a generous drizzle of oil infused with the flavors of garlic, rosemary, and Aleppo pepper. In his recipe, Jamie Oliver used fresh red chiles, but since they aren’t in season right now I went for my favorite dried chili peppers. If you use a lot of crushed red pepper at home, consider trying something new by seeking out Aleppo crushed red pepper flakes. Grown in Syria and Turkey, the Aleppo pepper is more fruity and earthy (reminiscent of the flavor of cumin) than regular crushed red pepper. Because of this earthy character, Aleppo pepper shines when paired with woodsy rosemary. Gnudi with Swiss Chard, Rosemary & Aleppo Pepper is good for a simple family supper (get the kids involved in shaping the dough) or a special occasion. It perfectly illustrates the image of ricotta as both comforting and luxurious.

Gnudi with Swiss Chard, Rosemary & Aleppo Pepper

Recipe expanded and changed slightly from recipe for Gnudi in Jamie magazine, Issue 19

serves 4-6

Ingredients

13 ounces (about 1 bunch) of Swiss chard, Cavolo Nero, or spinach leaves
12 ounces (2 cups) ricotta
4 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Parmesan, finely grated
2 pinches kosher salt
2 egg yolks
All-purpose flour for shaping
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo crushed chili pepper flakes

Cut away the stalks from the chard or cavalo nero, depending on what you are using. Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl with ice and water. Blanch the greens by boiling a large pot of water and tossing in half the leaves, cooking for 3 minutes. Remove the leaves from the boiling water, drain them, and quickly toss them into the ice bath. This stops the cooking and retains the bright green color. Once the leaves have cooled, pull them from the ice bath and squeeze all the water out of them. Blanch the other half of the greens using the same method. Finely chop the leaves and set them aside.

In a large bowl, combine the chopped greens and ricotta. Toss in the grated Parmesan, salt, and egg yolks. Stir together well with a spatula just until ingredients are evenly distributed. The mixture should be moist, not dry and crumbly, or the dumplings will fall apart when cooked later.

Make the gnudi. Generously flour your work surface (a large wooden cutting board works well), and keep a bowl full of all purpose flour close at hand. Use floured hands to shape the ricotta dough into dumplings. The method is like shaping cookies: pick up the dough and roll it into a football shape (rather than a ball). Then place the little football on the cutting board and roll it in the flour to coat. Work quickly, shaping and compacting the dough. Place the finished dumplings on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the fridge so the dumplings can rest for at least two hours, but overnight is even ideal. Cover them with a damp lint free dishtowel.

To cook the gnudi, fill a wide pan with water to the depth of about 3 inches. Bring the water to a gentle simmer. Take the dumplings out of the fridge and brush them lightly with water, then sprinkle them with all-purpose flour to coat. This will keep the dumplings from falling apart in the simmering water. Cook 1 dumpling as a test to make sure it doesn’t fall apart in the simmering water. If you have problems (gnudi disintegrates in the water) you need to add more flour to your dumplings. After your test dumpling, carry on cooking the rest of the gnudi. Gently slide the gnudi into the hot water using a spoon. The dumplings will sink to the bottom of the pot. When they rise to the surface, cook them another minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. This should take about 3 minutes total. Cook about 6 of the dumplings at a time.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, rosemary leaves, and crushed Aleppo chili pepper. Sauté the ingredients for about a minute to infuse the oil with flavor, then pour the hot oil over the gnudi and serve immediately.