Ricotta Dumplings – aka Malfatti
Everyone, I think, has their favorite dumpling. If they don’t they should. When I think about the model dumpling – the dumpling that which other dumplings should evolve from – what pops into my head is the Tuscan dumpling Malfatti. These simple ricotta dumplings can be so light and delicious floating in a pool of good tomato sauce. They embody the perfect dumpling – light, airy, flavorful and pretty easy to make. The basic recipe for these dumplings is very straight forward and, with a little understanding of the recipe and a little inspiration, new dumpling opportunities are just around the corner. Here is how I do my malfatti with a bit of extra dumpling discussion so we can get an idea how the recipe works. This will help us create new dumplings later.
Ricotta Dumplings
- ¼ pound fresh spinach
- 10 leaves (or to taste) of Fresh basil or to taste
- Olive oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg
- 1 clove garlic
- 8oz fresh ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- flour
- 2 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
- Nutmeg
- Salt and Pepper
- In a saute pan or medium pot, saute the garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
- When the garlic is just beginning to toast, add spinach and basil leaves, cook until wilted.
- Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
- Let cool completely and drain in a colander.
- When cool, finely chop the spinach and basil.
- In a large bowl mix the ricotta, spinach, egg, egg yolk, parmesan cheese salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Add flour 1 tbsp at a time and incorporate thoroughly before adding the next. Enough flour needs to be added to the mixture such that when the dumpling mixture is spooned onto a sheet tray it can barely hold its shape. It will/should be a little sticky. Too little flour and it will be to loose to handle. Too much flour and your dumplings will be heavy. As a guess, it will take between 5 and 10 tbsp of flour. (To see how your dumplings taste and hold up during cooking, you can boil some salted water and spoon in some of the batter to cook them. When they float they are done. You can add seasoning if need be or even more flour. Keep going until your mixture is to your liking).
- Spoon 1 tbsp dumplings onto a floured sheet tray – make a quenelle shape like little footballs with 2 spoons. Cover with foil. Refrigerate 1-4 hours.
- In a pot bring lightly salted water to boil then reduce to a simmer.
- Add dumplings to the simmering water a few at a time. When they float (about 1 minute of cooking) remove them from the water using a skimmer. Drain well.
- Serve with your favorite tomato sauce. Serve hot!
The Innovative Dumpling
These ricotta dumplings are delicious, but the beauty of the recipe is that it’s foundation is so simple – Ricotta bound with egg and flour – making it easy to expand upon. As long as we have plenty of binding agent and are careful with the flour, we can have light and delicious dumplings of any kind not only as a main course, but also great for soups, etc! This can also be done without the ricotta, but I like the richness and creaminess. What can we come up with for new dumplings? Tons! Of course, variations on the sauce are also worth considering. The sauce alone can bring your dumplings to a totally new place. Here are a few ideas that are easy to bring to life…
The Role Each Ingredient Plays
| ¼ pound fresh spinach | This is a flavouring opportunity for the dumplings |
| 10 leaves (or to taste) of Fresh basil or to taste | This is a flavouring opportunity for the dumplings |
| Olive oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg | Flavor |
| 1 clove garlic | Flavor |
| 8oz fresh ricotta cheese | creamy base, not overly flavorful, can be heavily flavored |
| 1 egg | Binding agent |
| 1 egg yolk | Binding agent/adds richness |
| flour | Binding agent |
| 2 oz. parmesan cheese, grated | Flavor and binding |
| Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper – to taste | Flavor |
Give It A Twist
| Twist On the Original | Roots and Fungus | A Thanksgiving Remix |
Chicken in a Dumpling | The Veggie | |
| The Dumpling | Spinach Basil Ricotta Eggs Flour Parmesan |
Parsnip Ricotta Eggs Flour Truffle Butter |
Sweet Potato Ricotta Eggs Flour Sage |
Chopped Chicken Ricotta Egg Roasted Garlic |
Hummus Avocado Flour Sambal or Asian Chili |
| Sauce Opportunity | Bechamel instead of tomato Dumplings are baked in sauce not boiled Cheese melted on top |
Pecorino Alfredo Sauce | Brown Butter and Herbed Croutons | Lemon Sauce (Bechamel based) | Tomatilla Salsa |
Making dumplings is so easy and there are so many possibilities to take them to the next level!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
How do you prepare your ricotta dumplings? Do You have a ricotta dumplings recipe to share? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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