Passover Spinach Ricotta Gnudi

Spinach ricotta gnudi, made with no wheat flour, are my latest recipe, just in time for Passover. This week marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday celebrating the Israelites liberation from Egypt and also Spring, rebirth, renewal, freedom, belonging, ...you get the picture. Since the Israelites had to flee their oppressors quickly they didn't have time to allow bread to rise, so the story goes. To commemorate that time, during Passover Jews eat foods made with matzo meal or matzo cake meal, but not with regular flour. Most other non-wheat flours are also not allowed.

Gnudi are a little larger and plumper than gnocchi but somewhat similar. Some people think of them as "ravioli without the pasta."  This recipe is very easy because you use one of those "blocks" of frozen spinach. The secret is getting as much water as possible out of the spinach. You want the dough to be very stiff. Rolling the dumplings in potato starch also helps keep them from falling apart in the water when you boil them. Since I used potato starch instead of flour, these gnudi are also gluten free. I adapted my recipe from the Weelicious recipe for Spinach Gnocchi. 

The dumplings are primarily made from ricotta and parmesan cheese, so they are very rich. I like them served simply with brown butter and sage, but you could also serve them with tomato sauce if you prefer, but do cook them in butter before adding sauce. When you brown them they get slightly crisp on the outside, without browning they can seem a little gummy.

Passover Spinach Ricotta Dumplings

Serves 4, makes about 35 small dumplings

Ingredients

10 ounces frozen chopped spinach

1 cup skim milk ricotta cheese

2/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 egg yolk

Pinch fresh grated nutmeg 

5 Tablespoons potato starch, divided

1/4 cup unsalted butter

12 fresh sage leaves

3-4 Tablespoons parmesan cheese 

Instructions

Cook the spinach according to instructions, let cool then squeeze all the water out of it as possible using your hands and a colander. 

Combine the spinach, ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg yolk, nutmeg and 2 tablespoons potato starch in a medium bowl. Mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Use a teaspoon to portion lumps of dough, and roll into balls. Place on a rimmed sheet pan. When all dough is rolled, dust the dumplings with the remaining 3 tablespoons of potato starch and roll them until they are coated on all sides. 

Boil a pot of water and add a pinch of salt. Gently place the dumplings in the water and simmer them until they rise to the surface, about 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, and place on a plate. 

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the sage leaves and the drained dumpling. Cook, rolling to brown lightly. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving. 

Enjoy!

More Passover recipes

Quinoa Salad with Feta and Dill Recipe

I've very excited to announce I will be doing a cooking demo during Macy's Flower Show in San Francisco on March 30th at 2 pm. I'll be sharing some recipes for jazzing up your sack lunch. So skip the sandwiches! This fresh and hearty salad is healthy and inexpensive to make and might make your co-workers jealous. Better bring some to share! 

Quinoa is kind of like a blank canvas, it doesn't have much flavor or texture. It has protein but to be satisfying I think you need more variety. A little bit of feta and chickpeas add more protein and creamy textures. Originally I was trying to make a Greek inspired salad, but I didn't want to add salty olives and I found it was a little bland. Fresh dill and lemon really add some zest to it. I also used English cucumbers which are available all year round.

I do have a few tips for making this salad, for one, always remember to rinse quinoa before you cook it. It is very bitter otherwise. Also I use less water than the package suggests, I find 1 and 1/2 cups of liquid is plenty for 1 cup of quinoa. Finally serve this salad at room temperature. It keeps well in the refrigerator but doesn't taste quite as delicious when it's chilled so just take it out a half an hour or so before serving it.

Quinoa Salad with Feta and Dill
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 cup English cucumber, diced
1 cup feta, crumbled
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup green onions, minced
3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Rinse the quinoa under cold water then cook according to package instructions. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Let quinoa cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, feta, dill, green onions and lemon juice. Add plenty of fresh ground pepper then taste for seasoning. Serve at room temperature. Keeps for up to 3 days in the refrigerator

Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Cookies Recipe

The drinks and dishes I tried on my trip to Avery Island inspired me to think about Tabasco in new ways. Of course you can use it in things like in guacamole or in a bloody mary, but how about something unexpected, for example, cookies?

I made François Payard Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies twice during Passover this year and they were gobbled up so quickly that I didn't even get to snap a photo. After following the recipe closely, I decided to put my own twist on it. The cookies are mostly powdered sugar, cocoa powder and egg whites. They are crisp and crackly on the outside but moist and fudgy, almost like brownies on the inside. But perhaps not surprisingly, they are a bit sweet.

To temper the sweetness I added Tabasco and cacao nibs. The Tabasco gives just a hint of heat in the background. You'll barely notice it, but it definitely takes these cookies to the next level. While the toasted walnuts add crunch and a contrasting bitterness, unsweetened cacao nibs help to balance the sweetness even more. Though I wouldn't call these cookies spicy, they do remind me of hot chocolate. The original recipes calls for Dutch process cocoa, but I tested it with natural cocoa (Hershey's and Valrhona) and it worked fine. I make the cookies smaller than Payard does because I'd rather have two cookies than one, but feel free to make them whatever size you like best. You can also make a half batch.

Hot Chocolate Cookies (adapted from François Payard)
makes about 40

Ingredients

2 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

2/3 cup cacao nibs


Instructions

Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Chop the walnut roughly, place on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7-10 minutes, just until they are golden and fragrant. Let walnuts cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt. Add the egg whites, vanilla and Tabasco and stir just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat). Fold in the walnuts and cacao nibs using a spatula. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of batter onto the baking sheets (or make them as large as a tablespoon if you prefer) and bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked. Let cookies cool then peel off the parchment paper.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I created this recipe on behalf of Tabasco and I was compensated for it. The choice to post it here, was my own.

Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Asparagus & Avocado Recipe

Ah, Spring! We are enjoying a warm spell right now and the fresh produce reflects the change of seasons with earthy root vegetables giving way to tender bright greens. I am so happy to have sunshine and bright green asparagus to eat! I recently discovered how delicious asparagus is when served raw, in salads. The trick is to shave it thinly with the sharpest vegetable peeler you have, then dress it with oil, lemon and salt so it wilts, just slightly. Asparagus is like the poster child for Spring.



I had eaten quinoa, but never tried cooking it until just recently when I received some samples of it--red, white and black--from Roland Food. Reading about quinoa I discovered while it has the texture of grain, it's actually a fruit. It's also gluten-free. It is very bitter unless thoroughly soaked and rinsed. Fortunately quinoa from Roland Food is already soaked saving me the bother.


Quinoa comes from the Andes, a staple in Peru, Chile and Bolivia where it has been cultivated since at least 3,000 BCE. It is high in protein, calcium and iron and the white variety has a sweet flavor. Most importantly, it has all the nine essential amino acids making it a complete protein. I tried toasting the quinoa, but I like the milder sweeter flavor for this recipe. It has a fluffier almost creamy texture that works well with the strong flavor of the leafy arugula. I really like the addition of dill, but you could easily leave it out or use parsley if you prefer. You could also use a slightly different mix of vegetables.

Note: If you don't plan on serving this salad right away, reserve the arugula and toss it in the salad right before serving.

Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Asparagus and Avocadomakes 2-4 servings

Ingredients

1/2  cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
5 asparagus spears, shaved thin (use a vegetable peeler)
1 handful fresh baby arugula, roughly chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2  Tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

In a medium saucepan combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 12- 15 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed. Meanwhile In a mixing bowl, make the dressing by whisking together lemon juice and oil. Add avocado, green onion and arugula to the dressing.

Transfer quinoa to a medium bowl and allow to cool. Add quinoa to dressing and vegetable mixture; toss with fresh dill and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.
Enjoy!

Here are just a few interesting quinoa recipes from fellow bloggers:

Stuffed Cabbage with Quinoa & Roasted Sweet Potatoes from Karina's Kitchen
Quinoa Pudding with Macerated Strawberries & Pistachios from Cannelle & Vanille
Quinoa Salad with Tomato, Feta and Parsley from The Perfect Pantry
Quinoa with Roasted Radishes & Pearl Onions from FatFree Vegan Kitchen
Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa from 101 Cookbooks
Quinoa Pilaf from Simply Recipes

Passover Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe

During Passover, I miss pasta. I make passover-friendly crepes, potato pancakes, and daydream a bit about spaghetti. Of course, if you are eating rice you can eat rice noodles I suppose but I wanted to come up with something else that would satisfy me and be kosher for everyone observing Passover.

The reason I have not posted any new Passover recipes is that, well, I haven't had much luck until now. I can't tell you how many little mini batches of gnocchi I made. Some were too soft, some were too chewy and one batch was frighteningly gummy. But this last batch worked like a charm. Practice makes perfect, I guess.

These sweet potato gnocchi have ricotta in them and are just seasoned with a bit of salt. They are great with butter and sage leaves. Normally I wouldn't specify the sauce, but I'm not sure I'd recommend serving them with a cheese sauce because they are pretty rich and filling without it. By sauteing them in a pan with butter, they take on the flavor of the sage and gain a nice slightly crisp exterior that is a good balance to their tender interior. By the way, there is no reason you couldn't eat these all year round.

Passover Sweet Potato Gnocchi
makes about 3-4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup mashed sweet potato (hot or cold)
1/4 cup ricotta
1/2 cup matzoh meal
1/4 cup potato starch
1 scant teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter
10 fresh sage leaves

Instructions

Mash together the sweet potato, ricotta, matzoh meal, potato starch and salt. When the dough is well mixed, break it into four even pieces. Roll each and cut about a 10 inch roll and cut into small pieces, about 15 per piece of dough. Using a fork, roll the bits of dough to flatten them slightly and make indentations. Boil in salted water just until they rise to the surface.

In a large saucepan, preferably non-stick, melt the butter and add the sage leaves, after a few minutes add the gnocchi and cook until the sage leaves are crisp and the gnocchi is slightly crisp on the outside.

Enjoy!

Passover Crepes: Recipe (gluten free)

Welcome to the third day of Passover! When it comes to this holiday, it takes only a short while before dietary tedium sets in I'm afraid. While I'm not able to keep kosher for Passover this year I am still trying out some new recipes that are kosher for Passover.

Typically because you can't use leavening many recipes for baked goods and pasta rely on eggs for texture. I found a recipe for Passover pasta in Gourmet magazine that I am eager to try. Today I modified a Passover crepe recipe with good results. I served it stuffed with mangoes and topped with yogurt for a yummy breakfast. It also happens to be gluten free so it's good for those on a gluten free diet, as I learned from Karina of Gluten Free Goddess.

Crepes are also terrific for dinner. I like to fill them with cheese, mushrooms, roast vegetables or chicken. Using crepes is easy because they can be made ahead and even frozen for later use. They are also economical because you can fill them with just about any kind of leftovers to make a whole new meal.

Passover Crepes
makes about 12

Ingredients

1/4 cup potato starch
1 cup milk, low fat is fine
4 eggs

Instructions

Blend ingredients in the blender. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add a little oil to coat pan. Stir batter and ladle about 2 tablespoons into skillet. Immediately swirl batter to spread about 6 inches in diameter.
Cook until bottom is light brown. Flip crepe and cook for about 1 minute until speckled.

Enjoy!