Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi With Strawberry Cream Sauce

Did you know that California is the nation’s largest producer of strawberries? Its unique weather (warm and sunny during the day, cool and foggy during the night) makes California the perfect environment for growing strawberries.The harvest has its peak in the middle of April, so I took advantage of the strawberry season for cooking up this new recipe : homemade ricotta gnocchi tossed with strawberry cream sauce. An easy dish to make and delicious to taste.

Buon Appetito!!!

Photo by Ale Gambini – BreadLoveAndDreams.com

Servings : 4 – 6

Difficulty : easy

Prep Time : 20 min.

Cook Time : 10 min. for the strawberry sauce -1 min. for the gnocchi

INGREDIENTS

For the strawberry cream sauce :

10 fresh strawberries

2 cups water

1 pinch salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

For the ricotta gnocchi :

1 lb fresh ricotta cheese

1 cup flour type 00

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 egg

1 pinch ground nutmeg

salt and pepper, to taste

freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, to sprinkle

DIRECTIONS

Rinse, dry and hull the strawberries.

Cut into small pieces and place them in a medium skillet with two cups of water and a pinch of salt. Cook until the water dissolves.

Allow to cool then puree the strawberries with a hand blender.

Return the pureed strawberries into the skillet, add one cup of heavy cream and heat for a couple of minutes.

In a big mixing bowl, place ricotta cheese, flour, parmesan cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Knead together all the ingredients with your hands until well blended (add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky).

Transfer the dough on a floured wooden cut board, roll golf-sized balls of dough into 3/4-inch diameter dowels then cut them into 1-inch long pieces.

Drop the gnocchi into a pot of boiling salted water and cook until they rise on top of the water (usually 1 minute).

Remove the gnocchi quickly with a skimmer, shake off the excess of water and plate.

Toss the gnocchi with strawberry cream sauce.

Serve warm, sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.