Ever since I learned to make gnocchi without potatoes, I’ve ventured into some variations on the theme. These green semolina gnocchi with spinach were the very first variant I tried.
I’ve done other tests since then, but I’ll tell you about those later.
Come on, a little suspense now and then is needed! 😃😃
I’m ready to write the recipe, are you ready? Do you have a package of remilled semolina and some spinach at home? Great! Let’s get started!!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups Remilled durum wheat semolina
- 3 1/3 cups Water
- 7 oz Spinach
- 2 oz Ricotta
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Nutmeg
- Pot
- Casserole
- Knife
Preparation
First, wash and boil the spinach.
To preserve the taste and properties of the spinach, I recommend not boiling them in water but cooking them with the lid closed, placing them in a pot right after washing, thus with only the draining water.
When the spinach is cooked, sauté it in a pan for a few minutes with a minced garlic clove and a teaspoon of oil to add flavor.
This pan sautéing is optional, which I do out of personal habit due to my cooking without salt. 😉
Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and chop finely with a knife, or for convenience, use a small food processor.
Combine the ricotta with the spinach.
Boil the water in a tall pot.
When the water boils, pour the spinach and ricotta mixture into it, stir with a spoon, then quickly add the semolina while stirring.
You will obtain a compact mixture that should be immediately transferred to the work surface well dusted with semolina, and it should be worked while hot (or warm).
Flavor with a good grating of nutmeg and knead quickly until you obtain a compact yet soft dough.
Flour (or semolina) as needed.
Take portions of the mixture and shape them into logs, as is customary for any kind of gnocchi.
Cut the logs into small pieces.
The obtained gnocchi can be used as is or rolled on a gnocchi board or the tines of a fork, or they can be slightly pressed with the tip of the index finger to obtain the now famous (:-D) hollow of my homemade gnocchi.
The green semolina gnocchi are excellent dressed with gorgonzola and walnuts as in this recipe of mine, but I’ve also tried them with a simple spicy tomato sauce and they weren’t bad at all.
Today I dressed them with butter and sage, specifically not to cover their beautiful color and to be able to photograph them for you. 🙂
Enjoy your meal!!
Another winning idea to dress these green gnocchi can be found in this recipe of mine: gnocchi with white sausage and Jerusalem artichoke ragù. Try it!
No Salt Tips
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
– Gradually decrease the salt, the palate needs to get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
– Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
– Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
– Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
– Use pungent vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
– Use my salt-free vegetable granular and the gomasio.
– Prefer fresh foods.
– Avoid water cooking, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
– Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
– Occasionally break the rule. It’s good for the mood and helps to persevere.
If you can’t, or don’t want to, give up salt:
You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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