This came out so creamy and delicious. Making homemade gnocchi does take lots of practice, but once you get it, it's super easy! Don't overwork the dough and handle gnocchi pieces delicately. Ricotta gnocchi is known to be light. Depending on where you live and the quality of ricotta cheese that is available to you, there’s a chance your ricotta cheese is on the wet side. If this is the case, place ricotta cheese in a cheese cloth or tight mesh strainer then over a bowl to catch any excess water. Doing this for the day or even a hour can make a big difference. Regardless if your ricotta “looks” wet, this is always the first step you must do. The only time it’s okay not to strain your ricotta is if you are using it to spread on bread or a crostini. Anytime you are using ricotta to cook, you must strain it first.

*If not cooking right away- once tray is filled (not over crowded) place in freezer for about 15 minutes, then transfer the gnocchi pieces into a large Ziplock bag. This is how you will store the gnocchi until ready to use. Keep in freezer until ready to drop in lightly salted, boiling water.

Ingredients
1lb whole milk ricotta, strained
1 ½ to 2 cups of flour (may need more)
1 large egg, lightly beaten in small bowl
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons of salt
Fresh basil
For the ricotta cream sauce:
Ricotta cheese, about 2 cups
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Zest of one lemon
Fresh lemon juice of one lemon
Olive oil, about 1 tablespoon
Splash of pasta water (saved from gnocchi)

Instructions

1. In one bowl mix: egg, cheeses, salt and 1 cup of the flour and mix.

2. Add only as much flour as needed to create a workable dough, be careful not to overwork. It will still be sticky, that’s okay.

3. Knead dough for about 2-3 minutes only on floured surface and create a log. Cover the log with plastic wrap. Cut about a fist sized slice out of the log and roll out into a “snake” about the thickness of your thumb. Dust flour over the long piece and cut it into about 1 inch pieces.

4. At this part you could leave them this way, or you can try using your index and middle finger to lightly roll each piece. Place the two fingers on the piece lightly push and roll at the same time. This takes practice, remember for ricotta gnocchi you can skip this part and keep it in the chunk look instead. If you still want to create the little dimple in each pillow, you can use the tip/curved part of a fork to gently roll over the length of each piece.

5. Transfer pieces to baking sheet with flour dusted on it (do not over crowd or touch too much!) and continue that same way with the rest of the dough. Set aside, when water is boiled, salt and drop in gnocchi. When they float they are finished, use a slotted spoon to scoop finished gnocchi out and transfer to large bowl ready to be topped with sauce, stir, top with freshly, sliced basil leaves. Serve immediately.

6. SAUCE: In a small mixing bowl mix items for ricotta cream sauce: ricotta cheese, about 2 cups, Salt and fresh ground pepper, Zest of one lemon, Fresh lemon juice of one lemon, Olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, Splash of pasta water (saved from gnocchi)

7. I just whisked this all together quick and mixed in with gnocchi, you can always make more if the gnocchi recipe made a lot and you need more sauce. Top with fresh, chopped basil leaves.

   
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