CSA Week 10 - August 4th - strozzapreti/ gnocchi verdi/ ravioli gnudi/ priest stranglers

What a fun recipe! These Italian dumplings (see variety of names above) combine blanched greens, ricotta, Parmesan, and eggs with a small amount of bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

I used all the week 10 Lacinato and summer spinach, which, by weight, was slightly less than the recipe calls for. 

I heard about these when Jenn Louis was on The Splendid Table last Sunday and couldn't get them out of my head. The segment also inspired me to try more Italian dumplings with CSA vegetables and perhaps to pick up Louis's book, Pasta By Hand.

After boiling the gnudi (I like this name best) for a few minutes, I topped them with melted butter, finely grated Parmesan, and black pepper. As Jonathan said, it was the ultimate comfort food. 

Louis's recipe is solid, but I will note some tips (mostly shortcuts).

1) To coat the gnudi in flour I placed some flour in one hand, scooped some dough with a spoon into that hand, then placed flour on top and tossed the dumpling back and forth between my hands to coat. This helped them attain a uniform disk shape. As a bonus, this also provided a very rustic, satisfying, tactile experience

2) I made 10 gnudi, but probably should have made at least 11 or 12 (they fall apart easily).

3) I cooked them in the green blanching water (!).

4) Some gnudi fell apart during cooking. I strained out the remnants in the pot to salvage them.

5) Serving them on a plate instead of a bowl would prevent them from all sticking together, yielding a more dumpling-like experience.

Finally, use something larger than a 3 cup food processor...