Kale and Ricotta Gnocchi in Sage and Bacon Butter by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi

Ingredients

Gnocchi:

300 g fresh curly kale or cavolo nero, or
200 g cooked and thoroughly squeezed curly kale or cavolo nero leaves
250 g ricotta, drained
100 g rated Parmesan or Pecorino
1 egg
3 heaped Tbs wheat or gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 tsp finely grated nutmeg
1 tsp salt, plus extra for the cooking water
Freshly ground black pepper
25 g grated Parmesan, plus extra, to serve

Bacon, Butter and Sage Sauce:

100 g unsalted butter
150 g unsmoked or
Smoked pancetta or bacon, cut into small strips
10 sage leaves
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
30 g pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Method

Start by making the gnocchi. If using fresh kale or cavolo nero, wash the leaves and pull away the tough stems. Roughly cut the leaves and boil them in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside. When cool enough to handle, thoroughly squeeze out the excess water from the kale (to the last drop!) and finely chop in a food processor (or by hand with a sharp knife on a board), then put into a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients for the gnocchi to the kale and stir through to combine. The mixture should be firm enough to handle and not wet and sticky. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour to the mix.

Roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls, making sure they are tightly packed so that they don’t break up in the water. As you prepare the balls, put them on a floured surface. You can keep them like this in the fridge, loosely covered, for up to a day if you want to prepare them in advance.

Prepare the sauce by melting the butter in a large frying pan. Add the bacon, sage leaves, salt and pepper (if using) and fry until the bacon is cooked through and the sage leaves are lightly browned. Add a ladleful of hot water and stir well. Leave the sauce over a very low heat while you cook the gnocchi. Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium – unlike when cooking pasta, you want a slow rolling boil, not a rapid boil.

Drop the gnocchi carefully into the boiling water. Let the water come back up to the boil and cook for 3–4 minutes until the gnocchi rise up to the surface. Let them bob around for a further minute, then carefully remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and lower them gently into the butter sauce. Fry them in the sauce for a few minutes until lightly browned. Stir the pine nuts into the sauce, if using. Serve with extra grated Parmesan on top.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Tuscany by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi published by Hardie Grant Books $49.99 and is available in stores nationally.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Tuscany by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi published by Hardie Grant Books $49.99 and is available in stores nationally.