GNUDI
Gnudi or Malfatti Is a tuscan dumpling. Gnudi translates to naked and it’s an apt name as these super easy dumplings that are basically a filling that you would use in ravioli but without the pasta wrapping they’re nudi! Malfetti means badly made or a bit rough around the edges which is also an perfetto name for the dish.
Its my god daughters 19th birthday tomorrow and I can imagine her cooking this with spinach from her garden as I make it.
Gnudi di spinaci. Gnudi for Gabby
250g Ricotta Ricotta (drained)
250g spinaci (bollito c strizzato) Boiled spinach squeezed
2tblsp Parmigiano Reggiano (any strong hard cheese will do)
1 uovo Egg
sale e pepe Salt and pepper to taste
00 Farina per stendere. Flour to roll
to fry
Burro. Butter
Salvia. Salvia
Nocciole Hazelnuts
Drain ricotta for an hour or so or over night if you remember, the less liquid the better as is the case for the spianch as well. Blanche spinach and squeeze as much liquid out as possible and chop. In a bowl mix equal amounts spinach and ricotta and egg 2 if small and finely grated sharp cheese of your choice, mix well. I attempted to quenelle mine as I have time on my side but you can just roll into balls then dust in flour. Here I used 00 semolina. Gently pop into boiling water until they float to top. I didn’t get any pictures of me putting them into boiling water as it was all a little chaos! Then fry up with butter**, sage and hazelnuts. Delish!
Burro / Butter Italian butter is almost pure white in colour. The cows are feed mainly on hay and grains and not grass so the beta-carotene (think carrots) is not present as in Australian yellow butter. I think ther taste is a little milder also.
Thursday 7th
Its hot and am feeling extremely lazy but as there is no where to get food we have to make something to eat!
Sformato di Cipolle Onion Flan
2 cipolla onion
5 uovo. eggs
zuchine. zucchini
pomodoro. tomato
mabnciata di formaggio. handful of cheese
schizzi di latte. splash of milk cream or a dairy of somekind
sale e pepe
You can make this on the stove top in a frypan or in the oven which I assumed would be easier!.
Slice onion into rings and place in the bottom of a cake tin with some oil and throw in the oven to brown while getting the other items together. Grate and / or chop whatever veggies you have on hand thrown into a bowl with 5 eggs, a dash of milk and a handful of cheese . Bake until golden. Now, my cake tin leaked so it was a bit of a shit-show luckily there was a pan under this tin so just kept scooping up the mixture and added it to the flan. I also grilled the top to brown up the onions a bit more once I flipped it. A piece of this between two slices of bread is apparently a great traveller!
Fico d’india - Prickly pear
Now this is just a warning we have attempted to forage these on a prior trip! You can eat the red fruits and they taste quite good especially in a cocktail. BUT the fruit is covered in the finest spiky hairs that get everywhere we had to throw out bags, t shirts and were pulling these painful spikes out for days, so whenever I see them I shudder a little! There is apparently a spineless version in Sardinia and they use them extensively around the base of trees for their moisture content but once bitten for me!
