Finally we have the internet back and I can blog again, I have a pile of recipes I really want to get on here and have decided that tonight after an extremely lovely dinner I would post this gorgeous recipe.

I have tried on a couple of occasions to make gnocchi, each time I have failed miserably and have decided that its just far easier to buy the fresh ready made stuff from the Supermarket.

That was until I was watching the “Two Greedy Italians” and watched Gennaro make these yummy little ricotta dumplings. If you haven’t seen the show yet on Wednesday nights, BBC2, 8pm, you have missed out, its such a delightful series. Also the book is just so lovely, you can truly feel their love of Italian food and their individual personalities shine through. Gennaro explains that these little dumplings are traditionally made in his home village Minori on the feast day of the town’s patron saint.

Success at last !!! The dough was soft and pliable, they cooked in two minutes, floating to the top when ready, just like gnocchi and the simple sauce was fresh and perfect, not over powering the delicate little dumplings.

We enjoyed ours with crusty bread to mop up any left over sauce as a main meal, but it would also make a really lovely starter/primi served as a smaller portion.

Buon appetito

Serves 4200g Italian ’00’ flour, plus extra for flouring
220g ricotta
3 egg yolks
20g parmesan, freshly grated
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
700g tinned plum tomatoes, chopped in half
a few basil leaves, I used quite a few as we love basil
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, cut into thick slices

In a large bowl, mix the flour, ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper together to form a soft, moist dough. Place on a floured work surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. With your hands, roll the dough into a thin sausage shape and then cut it at right angles into rectangular shapes 2cm long. You could get the Children involved by encouraging them to knead the dough and also roll out the sausage shapes, their little hands seem so more adapt at it than ours do!

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and add the dumplings. Wait until they rise to the surface again, then lower the heat and simmer for a further 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the tomatoes and basil in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the garlic. When the garlic begins to change colour, remove the pan from the heat and add the tomato mixture. Replace on the heat and cook gently for 4 minutes, until the mixture is bubbling.

Drain the dumplings with a slotted spoon and add to the tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly and serve immediately.