This dish is delicious all on its own, even without the left-over pork, so you can choose whether to serve this up as a vegetarian delight or smother it in rich pork ragu. Gnudi is like a lighter version of gnocchi – you can think of it as naked ravioli, with all the tasty filling but minus the pasta.
Ingredients
Gnudi
- 8 oz 1 cup (225 g) ricotta
- 3½ oz 1 cup (100 g) finely grated parmesan
- 5½ oz 1 cup (150 g) plain (all-purpose) flour or ‘00’ flour
- 7 oz (200 g) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- ½ nutmeg, finely grated
- ½ finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- bunch of sage leaves, half finely chopped, half left whole
- knob of butter
- glug of olive oil
- 5 oz 1 cup (140 g) frozen peas
Pork Ragu
- handful of left-over pulled pork, shredded
- glug of olive oil
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 14 oz (400 g) tin of tomatoes
- glug of red wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
How to Make It
- For the pork ragu, allow the left-over pork to come to room temperature. Pour a glug of oil into a pan over medium heat and add the onion and garlic, then cook for a few minutes until the onion softens. Add the tomatoes, red wine and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium–low heat for an hour or so, then add the pork 10 minutes prior to serving, just to heat through.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil while you prepare the gnudi. Combine the ricotta, parmesan and flour in a bowl. Add the spinach, egg yolks, nutmeg, lemon zest, parsley and the chopped sage, then season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix thoroughly. Roll generous teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls.
- When the water is boiling, add 6–7 balls at a time and cook for a minute or so, just until they float to the surface, then remove. Repeat until all the gnudi are cooked.
- In a large frying pan, melt a small knob of butter with a glug of oil over high heat, then add the cooked gnudi and the whole sage leaves. Fry until the gnudi are crispy and golden, turning them every few minutes. Add the peas and the pork ragu and cook for a few minutes longer, just to heat through.