Make some pasta tonight!
From Bon Appetitè
Even if you are not up to speed on making beautiful pasta dishes by hand, you can do this one. Malfatti is for us. It translates as “badly made” but despite the name, you’ll like this cheese and spinach pasta that looks a little like gnocchi.
Do this:
Cook 20 oz of fresh or frozen spinach in a pot of salted water. Cook fresh just enough to wilt, or 8-10 minutes if frozen. Drain and squeeze our excess water. Really squeeze it out hard, since the spinach will be tough to use if it retains too much water.
Melt in a pan, 1.5 tbsp butter, add one smashed garlic and then the spinach. Sauté for 5 minutes stirring occasionally to help rid it of moisture. Remove and set aside and discard garlic. Let spinach cool.
Using a large bowl, place 8 oz fresh ricotta, 2 beaten eggs, 3 oz finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino and the spinach.
Add a small amount of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
Now add 1.3 cups all-purpose flour. Doing this last helps make dough smoother. Mix all with your hands for about 3 minutes. It will be sticky.
Flour a work surface and either make small gnocchi size pieces or a long roll which you can cut into bite size pieces. (Just divide dough into four big pieces, and then roll each into a log and cut up).
In a pot of boiling salted water, drop the malfatti in the water. When they rise after 4-5 minutes, remove with a strainer spoon.
Now place the malfatti in saucepan with melted butter, 2 oz of Parmesan and some sage. Toss lightly to coat with the butter mixture. Or if you feel like tomatoes are better, use your favorite tomato sauce instead of the butter mix.
Enjoy with a side salad and a glass of Pinot Grigio.