Spinach and Spelt Gnocchi without Potatoes: The ‘Smart’ Recipe in 10 Minutes
If you’ve overbought fresh spinach at the market, this is the definitive recipe to make the most of them. Forget the rolling pin and long preparations: today we make spinach gnocchi with spelt flour without potatoes. A ‘smart’, light, and nutritious solution, perfect for bringing wellness to the table in just a few minutes.
Why Choose Spinach and Spelt?
Remember that health always comes from nutrient-dense ingredients. This recipe is a real booster for your body:
Spinach: Rich in antioxidants, lutein, and zeaxanthin, they are essential for eye health and combating oxidative stress. Further information on Spinach benefits – Humanitas.
Spelt Flour: An ancient alternative to wheat flour, richer in fiber and protein, providing a more stable glycemic index and superior digestibility.
The Piping Bag Trick: Goodbye Rolling Pin!
The peculiarity of these ‘smart’ gnocchi lies in the preparation method. No need to knead and form the usual rolls: just put the spinach and flour in a mixer, blend everything, and transfer the mixture obtained into a pastry piping bag. At this point, it will be really fun to cut the gnocchi directly over boiling water with a snip of scissors. In 5 minutes your first course will be ready!
If you like homemade gnocchi or fresh pasta in general, here are some other ideas to draw inspiration from:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Fall
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it will not cost you anything extra!
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 1 1/4 cups spelt flour
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp salt
- 10.5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce (or 2 tablespoons tomato paste)
- 1 fresh green onion
- to taste sweet paprika
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Piping bag
- 1 Pan
- 1 Scissors
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Slotted spoon
Steps
Making quick spinach gnocchi is really easy. Start by washing the baby spinach well under running water, then transfer them to a mixer drained but not wrung out together with the spelt flour.
Add the water, the salt and blend at intervals. If the mixture turns out to be too liquid, add another 1-2 tablespoons of flour, but sparingly. The dough will have time to firm up while resting in the fridge. Conversely, if it is too dense, add 10 ml of water at a time until you obtain a fairly dense consistency, but make sure it is not semi-liquid.
Transfer the obtained mixture to a pastry bag and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by slicing the green onion, including the greener part, into thin rings and halving the cherry tomatoes.
In a large pan, sauté the onion with two tablespoons of oil for a couple of minutes.
Add the tomatoes, lower the heat, and cover. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, adding a little water if necessary.
Add the tomato sauce, adjust the salt, and turn off the heat. Off the heat, season with paprika and stripped thyme as desired.
In a large saucepan, bring plenty of salted water to a boil, then position yourself with the piping bag over the pot and squeeze about 1 inch of spinach mixture at a time. Quickly cut them with kitchen scissors, letting them fall into the water.
In this way, the gnocchi will form. Cook them for 2-3 minutes or until they rise to the surface on their own.
Drain them with the help of a slotted spoon (fig. 10).
Turn the heat back on where you prepared the tomato sauce and add the gnocchi, lengthening with a few ladles of cooking water and letting them flavor for another couple of minutes.
Serve with more fresh thyme and some salted ricotta or grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
And voilà…the quick spinach gnocchi are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉Being a dough based on fresh vegetables and flour, they are best cooked on the spot. However, you can prepare the ‘cream’ a couple of hours in advance and store it in the fridge directly in the well-closed piping bag.
Tips, Notes, Variations, and Suggestions
🟣 As an alternative to spelt flour, you can use oat flour, semi-whole flour type 1, or whole wheat flour.
🟣For an even tastier idea, try putting them in a buttered baking dish with tomato sauce, lots of mozzarella cubes, and grated Parmesan on top. They will be so cheesy, you’ll lick your lips. However, their versatility does not end there. I chose a fresh cherry tomato sauce for a spring touch, but depending on the season, they are also delicious in the classic butter and sage version or, for the more gluttonous, with a gorgonzola cream that contrasts the sweetness of the spinach.
🟣For an explosion of Mediterranean flavor (vegan and fresh): season with a sun-dried tomato, almond, and caper pesto.
Procedure: Blend dried tomatoes, desalted capers, and some almonds with a drizzle of oil and extend with pasta cooking water without salting. This ‘raw’ dressing is perfect for quick gnocchi because it does not require the stove on. Anyway, the ideal is to focus on sauces that do not require longer cooking times than the pasta itself.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
1. Why are potatoes not used?
The absence of potatoes makes these gnocchi much quicker to prepare (you don’t have to boil anything in advance) and reduces the starch content, making the dish lighter and suitable for those following a controlled diet.
