Recipe: Spinach and ricotta gnudi with a tomato, sage and butter sauce, crispy prosciutto and sage, and roasted cherry tomatoes

I want to win a week in one of your Tuscany villas!

The below recipe is my take on the classic Tuscan dish “gnudi”, essentially ravioli without the pasta! I’ve served mine with a sauce of butter, tomatoes and sage, plus crispy sage leaves and prosciutto and roasted cherry tomatoes.

(This recipe is my entry to the “To Tuscany” recipe competition. Food bloggers are challenged to create a Tuscan-inspired recipe which includes olive oil, Parmesan and tomatoes. For details of how to enter, see here)

Spinach and ricotta gnudi with a tomato, sage and butter sauce, crispy sage and prosciutto and roasted cherry tomatoes

Ingredients

For the Gnudi:

350g spinach, roughly chopped
1.5tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten
400g ricotta
40g Parmesan, grated
125g plain flour
Salt and pepper
1tsp nutmeg
25g butter

For the tomato, sage and butter sauce:

4-5 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped
8-10 sage leaves, chopped
100g unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped

Garnish:

8-10 sage leaves, washed
3-4 slices prosciutto
Cherry tomatoes

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Put your cherry tomatoes in a roasting tin with a good glug of olive oil, and lay the prosciutto slices on a greased baking sheet. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes while preparing the rest of the meal.

3. Heat 1.5 tbsp olive oil in a pan. When hot, cook the spinach for a few minutes, turning frequently.

4. Mix the spinach with the egg, Parmesan, flour, ricotta and nutmeg in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Fill a large pan with boiling water, the 25g butter and a generous sprinkling of salt. Shape the spinach and ricotta mixture into small balls, about 3cm in diameter (it’s easier to do this when your hands are wet!). Add these to the water, and cook for about 5 minutes.

6. While the gnudi are cooking, prepare the sauce and the crispy sage leaves. Heat the butter for the sauce in a pan. When frothing, add the tomato, sage and shallot, and cook for a couple of minutes.

7. At the same time, heat a good few tablespoons of olive oil in a separate shallow pan. When hot, add the sage leaves and cook for around 10-15 seconds on each side. Remove from the pan and place on a few sheets of kitchen towel, where they will crisp up.

To serve: arrange the gnudi, tomatoes, prosciutto (broken into shards) and sage leaves on the plate. Top with the sauce. Enjoy!