italian dumplings

Once you master Italian Dumplings you'll never open a bag of dried pasta again. You'll laugh at the idea of bringing home those dried up store bought gnocchi! All you need in your kitchen is a mixing bowl, wooden spoon, large pot and slotted spoon.

Italian Dumplings

eggs

ricotta cheese

flour

tsp kosher salt

cracked pepper

tsp nutmeg

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil then reduce to a simmer.

Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then incorporate ricotta, flour salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Use two small soup spoons to drop rounds gently into boiling water.

Simmer Italian dumplings for 4-5 minutes then using a slotted spoon place onto greased oiled sheet.

Not sure what to do with stale bread?  Try making these Italian Bread Dumplings.  Serve as an appetizer, a side, or a main dish by adding pasta; you would surely ask for seconds!

Italian Bread Dumplings Recipe

old bread (8.80 ounces

eggs, (beaten)

Pecorino Romano, (heaping, grated)

parsley, (roughly chopped)

olive oil

garlic, (minced)

& 1/2 to 3 cups crushed tomatoes

salt, pepper & peperoncino, (to season)

Start preparing the bread:  remove the hard, crusty portions and dice the white part of the bread.  (Note that the smaller you chop the bread, the easier it is to form a bread dumpling dough.)

Add the eggs, parsley, pecorino Romano, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Mix to combine evenly --- until it forms a dough.

Use a teaspoon to take a portion of bread dumpling dough.

Roll it between your palms to form it into a ball.  Repeat until you finish the dough.

Start with the sauce by placing a deep pan or skillet over medium heat.

Heat the remaining olive oil.

Add the minced garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant.

Pour the crushed tomatoes, then season with salt, pepper, and peperoncino.

Stir to combine, then add the bread dumplings.

Mix to coat the bread balls with the sauce, then cover with a lid.

Simmer for at least an hour, frequently stirring to ensure that nothing sticks at the bottom.

Transfer into serving bowls, and garnish with fresh parsley and grated Pecorino Romano.

Your Italian bread dumplings are now ready ---- enjoy! 

Recipe video above. Malfatti means “badly formed” in Italian. These irregular spinach ricotta gnocchi-like dumplings may look a bit wonky, but they taste incredible!Like gnudi except with the addition of spinach, this traditional Italian dish can be served straight after boiling them. But it&#039;s really worth a quick 15 minute bake to get a light golden crust on the Malfatti as well as caramelisation on the edges of the Napoli sauce. It really takes it in a deliciously different direction!Servings: This will serve 4 very hungry people, or 5 standard servings.

Malfatti (Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings in Napoli Sauce)

garlic (, finely minced)

onion (, very finely diced)

/ 24 oz crushed tomato ((or diced))

tomato paste

water

basil stem ((leaves kept

tsp white sugar

salt

tsp black pepper

/ 10 ounces baby spinach

tsp salt

eschallot ((large), finely chopped (or 1/2 red onion))

(lightly packed) basil leaves, finely sliced ((use stem

egg ((Note 2))

egg yolk ((Note 2))

parmesan (, finely grated)

flour (, plain / all-purpose)

Basil leaves (, small (optional))

Saute garlic and onion: Heat oil in a small pot or large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes until onion is softened.

Simmer sauce: Add remaining ingredients plus the stem of basil. Bring to a simmer, then reduce stove to low and cook, stirring every now and then, for 20 minutes. It should be fairly thick rather than a loose runny sauce.

Napoli Sauce:

Drain ricotta, if needed: The ricotta should be the dry and fairly crumbly type rather than wet, soft and almost spreadable. If it&#039;s wet, see Note 1 for removing excess water (wet ricotta makes Malfatti hard to shape and cook!)

Sweat spinach: Toss spinach with 1/2 tsp salt in large colander. Leave for 20 minutes. Roll up in tea towel and squeeze tightly to remove excess liquid. Roughly chop.

Sauté garlic, eschalot and spinach: Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and eschalot, cook for 1 minute until translucent. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Transfer to large bowl, allow to cool.

Malfatti mixture: Add ricotta and all remaining Malfatti ingredients into the bowl. Mix well to combine. It should be too wet to roll with hands without sticking, but still firm enough to shape into dumplings.

Form dumplings: Using 2 dessert spoons, scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture then shape into a football (quenelle) using the two spoons. Place on a paper-lined tray. You should get about 24-30.

Boil dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then carefully put 6 dumplings in. Cook for 2 minutes, they should float to the surface. Remove with slotted spoon on to paper towel lined tray. Repeat for remaining Malfatti.

Malfatti:

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.

Assemble: Pour Napoli Sauce into a baking dish, then top with Malfatti. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Bake 15 minutes or until the Malfatti has a faint blush of gold on the surface (Note 3).

Serve! Sprinkle baked Malfatti with parmesan and basil leaves (tear large leaves). Spoon into bowls and served as-is. No starchy side is required, think of these as like gnocchi. Just add a leafy green salad with Italian Dressing or Balsamic Dressing!

Baking:

I made these on a Sunday with some home grown/canned tomatoes I save for special recipes because they are so amazing. This recipe did not disappoint! I used a dash of Shaoxing wine to deglaze my garlic and onions for the tomato sauce, but other than that, made it as written. Had to pick up basket ricotta from whole food (in florida) and add a little flour to make the right consistency.  I will add a little more salt to the dough next time, but still beautifully simple flavors. Thank you!!

Wow! I have made this twice in two weeks. The first attempt the balls disintegrated, but this did not deter from the flavours. The second attempt I used Borrello ricotta (Aus) and drained both the ricotta and spinach well. I rolled the mixture into balls with my hands and flattened a little. So much easier than using two spoons. A sensational dish and is even better the next day. Yum! Thank you Nagi!

Baked this for dinner tonight, delicious, guest loved it. Kept some of the ricotta &amp; spinach mix to make filo triangles tomorrow night. Thank you Nagi.

LOVED these!! I made no changed apart from adding mince to the sauce… I think my ricotta was a bit wet so I will drain in colander overnight next time. The dumplings were still amazing though. Did take me a little time to prepare, certainly not an after work weekday meal though!

made this for the first time tonight, very very tasty. Im halved the recipe for just 2 people. beat up 1 egg but only used about half and froze the rest so it was not wasted. definitely make again

Yum! I had some leftover ricotta I needed to use. Searching for a tasty recipe came across this one, other than the fresh basil everything else is a household staple. Would definitely make again.

An unassuming yet superb tasting recipe. Great veg option albeit a little time consuming with the steps. Have loved it each time I've cooked it. Thanks as always Nagi.

I made this today and it is devine!! Not sure if that's a word used to describe food but this recipe deserves it! Light, pillowy and packed with flavor. I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen, lots of steps but so very worth it! I had to use ricotta in a tub, I got a high quality brand, I put cheesecloth bottom of colander atop a bowl and let it drain for 24 hours in fridge as noted.  It released a lot of water and I had no issues. Thanks Nagi for the great recipe!

Yet another winner from Nagi. I've never made dumplings of any sort before but the video and instructions were a huge help in producing a crowd pleaser

I love this recipe. It went down a treat. Delicious. Unfortunately I couldn’t get basil so I had to make it without. I’m sure it’d be 6 stars with basil. It tasted great anyway. It’s been added to the rotation.

I’m making my way through your recipes! This was truly outstanding. I added a little more water &amp; simmered the sauce for an hour. I don’t think I’ll buy jarred sauce again. Another winner of a recipe!

Another hit! Kids loved it. I had to substitute the spinach with silverbeet as the supermarket shelves are currently void of spinach. Takes a little longer to wilt and had to zap it in the mini blender but end result was still good. Next time I’ll try this with a pre-made Napoli to cut down on prep time though.

So tasty.  Just recently found gnudi, and this was great as a lower carb pasta substitute.

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