BAKING

ZUNI RICOTTA GNOCCHI – Time For the Daring Cooks!!

2009/05/14 / 37 Comments
“Try to cook so that it will surprise a little, agreeably and astonish slightly, without shocking.”
Jean Marie Amat
ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks2 Here we are with the very first Daring Cooks’ challenge … Ricotta Gnocchi being hosted by Lis & Yvonne, the bravehearts behind the Daring Kitchen! They have chosen ‘a recipe from the stunning cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook.’ This challenge takes me back to my first Daring Bakers challenge, where I signed up after many tugs between the head & the heart, & ran straight into a Lemon Meringue Pie. That was my first challenge with the Daring Bakers & I wept with my weepy pie, though thankfully I wasn’t alone that time! I thought I’d moved on from weepy disasters in time, & despite a similar tug of war, signed up for Daring Cooks the minute it was announced. How daring huh? Something in the back of my head was telling me I have enough on my plate. No time in any case, as the ‘fill in the blanks’, even up to seconds, have been filled by Twitter.ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks3To cut a long story short, I’ve arrived as a Daring Cook too. The Daring Baker challenges have been a huge learning & meeting ground, & totally fulfilling as an experience. When the first challenge for the Daring Cooks was announced, Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi, I did a little jig, egged on by Nandini @ Reluctant Chefs. Die hard… yes, that’s me! It was time to try my hand at some fresh & creamy home made ricotta from Vera’s beautiful blog @ Baking Obsession! The result was outstanding. Creamy, full of flavour & I could have sat there like little Miss Muffet & eating the whole bowlful, & I almost did! ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks8I really didn’t want it to go into gnocchi because the weather is really hot & I was dreaming of cheesecake with ricotta. Slapped myself back to reality, got onto following the recipe for gnocchi. A bit of a fiddle it is, but what kept me going were the songs of praises that I read on the net often about ricotta gnocchi = little pillows of delight! I was floating like a cloud, & had them all made & then froze them for lunch the next day ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks4I didn’t end up with little pillows of delight though. What I actually got was little pillows of sheer fright! And I wouldn’t be talking about them here if this hadn’t been a challenge but here I am. In hindsight, I think ricotta gnocchi is for cooler weather and maybe not 40C. Mine might have done better had I drained it some more. Initially, as expected, each gnocchi sank to the bottom, then rose to the top. Then the drama began! Oh boy, with each bubble of the boiling water, the gnocchi disintegrated & covered the surface like a cumulonimbus cloud cover! I was transported right back to my LMP!! I stuck the uncooked gnocchi right back into the freezer, & began again gingerly, & barely got a few that stayed in one piece, but very unpillow like, & not pretty. ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks1The saving grace was the tomato sauce. Aaaaaah, if I enjoyed the challenge it was because of this Food Network’s tomato based Vodka Cream Sauce. Simple & decidedly delicious! I fried a few basil leaves for the garnish. The hub loved the flavours of both the gnocchi & the sauce…& I sulked because I dislike serving sad looking platters! Having said all this, I really can’t wait to see the next challenge, he he!!ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks9Vodka Cream Sauce

from Food Network
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon vodka (optional)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup Gabriel’s Tomato Sauce, recipe below
Directions
To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften. Add the vodka, cream, and tomato sauce, and simmer until the flavors blend, 2 to 3 minutes. ricotta+gnocchi+Daring+Cooks6Gabriel’s Tomato Sauce
1/2 kilo fresh ripe tomatoes ; blended
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 fresh basil leaves (slightly bruised)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Puree whole tomatoes without their liquid in a food mill. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the pureed tomatoes. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper and simmer, stirring frequently until the sauce is concentrated, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Yield: 2 cups
Immediately before serving, add the gnocchi to the sauce and heat, stirring gently to coat. Spoon the gnocchi into warm bowls, top with fried basil leaves & some lime zest and serve.

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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37 Comments

  • Happy cook

    2009/05/14 at 2:38 pm Reply

    Wow you too made them, looks beautiful and delicous.
    Just came from food blog and she too has made this.

  • Judy@nofearentertaining

    2009/05/14 at 2:51 pm Reply

    I think they turned out great! Too bad you had so much trouble with them!

  • Kelly

    2009/05/14 at 3:09 pm Reply

    I’m impressed! They look delish. And, as always the pictures are a realy delight to look at.

  • MAHIMA

    2009/05/14 at 3:29 pm Reply

    Oh!! i feel bad that so much of ur effort!! but well it dint go waste 🙂 m sure they must have tasted well enough! …. Loved the sauce.. never heard of Vodka sauce … sure to try that soon 🙂

  • Susan/Wild Yeast

    2009/05/14 at 3:50 pm Reply

    I had to laugh at “pillows of fright.” Mine turned out the same way, first time around. Try them again! The sauce sounds terrific. And kudos for making your own ricotta!

  • Arundathi

    2009/05/14 at 4:42 pm Reply

    Deeba, it looks great!! I can’t believe you call these a “fright”!! I really think it could be the homemade ricotta – maybe it had to drain much longer.

  • Helene

    2009/05/14 at 6:14 pm Reply

    I’m amaze that you made your own ricotta. That would be excellent in a cheesecake cake, like you said. That seems to be a lot of work this challenge but you dit it. Great work on this one.

  • Gera @ SweetsFoods

    2009/05/14 at 9:21 pm Reply

    Sometimes doesn’t turn out the dish as you want, but the gnocchi looks great indeed…
    I adore ricotta and gnocchi 🙂
    Anyway, send yours Deeba!

  • Gloria

    2009/05/14 at 11:03 pm Reply

    Deeba!!! This is absolutely tasty and yummy!! I love gnocchi and ricotta! Love ya! xoxoxoxoxGloria

  • Arwen from Hoglet K

    2009/05/15 at 3:53 am Reply

    It’s a shame the shape was no good, but the taste is the most important thing and it sounds like they were tasty.

  • Sathya Sankar

    2009/05/15 at 4:37 am Reply

    The gnocchi looks very delicious, love the sauce. Pictures are amazing as always 🙂

  • delhibelle

    2009/05/15 at 5:21 am Reply

    home made ricotta and that beautiful gnocchi! why, oh why were we not neighbours when i lived in Delhi!

  • abby

    2009/05/15 at 5:51 am Reply

    sounds like you had a nightmare deeba but hey, vodka sauce has to be a good payback for the effort!

  • Manggy

    2009/05/15 at 7:15 am Reply

    Sorry to hear about the disaster, but they do look good… I would definitely drain the ricotta until I couldn’t get a single drop more… Then a few more hours on top of that 😛

  • Curry Leaf

    2009/05/15 at 9:05 am Reply

    Love this Deeba.Too great you made homemade ricotta.I think they look like pillows of heaven only.Love this Mis Muffet and also the fried basil is perfect.

  • FSK

    2009/05/15 at 11:28 pm Reply

    Deeba,

    your site is fantastic. I am a big baking enthusiast too! If I could, I would everything in the oven :))

    Going to try some of your cake recipes soon…

    FSK

  • giz

    2009/05/15 at 9:33 pm Reply

    I don’t think I’ll ever think of cumulonimbus clouds and pillows quite the same again. The first pictures looked ideal. Maybe the heat really does have something to do with it. As always – great pictures.

  • noble pig

    2009/05/16 at 6:21 am Reply

    Pillows of fright..ha-ha. Gnoochi can be challenging…they are either perfect, or not. But hey the sauce looks divine!

  • Yasmeen

    2009/05/16 at 12:09 pm Reply

    Congrats on finishing the first DC Challenge,gnocchi looks lovely with luscious tomato sauce:)

  • Dharm

    2009/05/17 at 2:10 pm Reply

    I so, so wanted to do this Deebs but Ricotta is so expensive here and I just dont have the time to make my own. Congrats on doing the challenge – it really looks super! Well Done!!!

  • Vera

    2009/05/20 at 1:16 am Reply

    Deeba, I’m so glad you liked the ricotta:) Thank you for your kind words and the link!
    Your gnocchi look delicious!

  • Angela @ A Spoonful of Sugar

    2009/05/22 at 1:56 pm Reply

    Despite being “pillows of fright” they still look fantastic to me. Love the shot of the just-shaped gnocchi, too!

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