Heavenly Pillows of Deliciousness

In preparing for my first try at gnocchi, I read many recipes for these pillows of loveliness. Recent fall editions of my fave culinary rags (Bon Appetit and Food & Wine) contained recipes for your typical potato gnocchi as well as variations like sweet potato gnocchi and even a carrot version. Then I turned to epicurious.com for their take. That's where I ran into recipes for ricotta gnocchi. As soon as I read through a few, I realized these gnocchi are made almost completely of cheese! Uhm, sold. The following is my adaptation of two recipes I found on epicurious.

Ricotta Gnocchi

1 lb fresh ricotta (from your local cheese store or Trader Joe's carries a nice variety)
1 tbsp melted butter
2-3 egg yolks
1/2 c (appx) all-purpose flour
1/4 c Parmesan
1/2 tsp salt
grated lemon rind

Depending on the type of ricotta you start with, you might have to let it sit in a sieve over a bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour until it loses some of the liquid. You don't want to start with "wet" ricotta... so, let it drain prior to making the gnocchi dough.

When the ricotta has drained sufficiently, drop it in a bowl and whisk fervently until the cheese is mixed well. Add the butter and whisk like crazy. Then add 2-3 egg yolks, depending on the size of your eggs, plus the Parmesan; then whisk some more. Next add the flour by the heaping spoonful and mix. You'll probably only need to add about 3 heaping spoonfuls of flour. Add just enough to pull the dough together, or until the dough changes color from slightly yellow (from the eggs) to slightly white. Then mix like crazy again. You should have a fluffy dough that resembles a texture somewhere between mashed potatoes and cake icing.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and prepare a plate with a shallow layer of flour. With a small spoon, scoop up about 2 teaspoons worth of dough. Then push the dough off the spoon with your finger into the flour. You can drop upto 4 pieces of dough into the flour at a time. Then shake the plate a bit to flour the sides of the dough. Flip each piece of dough over to cover the other side in flour. Then pick up one piece at a time; shape it into an oval pod by slightly rolling and cradling it in your palm. Gently place each gnocchi on the baking sheet. When you've shaped all the gnocchi, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil (you might need two pots depending on how many gnocchi you cook at once). Reduce the water to a slow simmer and drop in the gnocchi. Cook at a gentle simmer (a hard boil will make the gnocchi cook too fast and explode). At first the gnocchi will sink to the bottom of the pot, but after they float to the top, cook for about 3-4 minutes more. Finally, remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and serve immediately with browned butter and Parmesan or lamb ragu.

Bon appetit!