Spinach Cheese Gnocchi & Importance of Homemade

Few nights ago I watched great TV show called “Extra Virgin” with Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos. Very cute show, lovely family and fantastic recipes. I love idea of living in the big city and having vegetable garden and even chickens with fresh eggs in your backyard. Why not? Kids will grow up learning about best quality ingredients and freshly prepared homemade food.I fell in love with this recipe from the moment I saw it, so next day I decided to make it.
Spinach and Cheese Gnocchi dish is absolutely fantastic!

I share the same point of view with Debi and Gabriele with a different set up, I don’t have chickens yet, I only have my little herb garden, my oranges, apples and tomatoes are starting next week:)

While waiting for the lunch to be done…. my kids are working hard and making big selections of cookies using play dough:)
You can’t beat playing outside while waiting for the fresh homemade lunch….I love weather in L.A., we can do this almost every other day.

Extra virgin is the show which will entertain and delight you with great Italian recipes and ideas.

Original Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi by Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar

Ingredients

* 2 pounds fresh spinach (about 3 bunches)
* 1 (16-ounce) container ricotta cheese
* 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
* 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 handfuls fresh sage

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot salted water to a boil.
Cut the stems off the spinach, and soak the leaves in the sink. Wash them thoroughly.
Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove spinach from the water and plunge in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
Drain the spinach very well, and using a clean tea towel, squeeze out the extra water. Chop the leaves very fine.
Put the cooked spinach in a large bowl, add the ricotta, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, egg yolks, and season with a couple pinches salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix well, and make sure that the ricotta crumbles into fine pieces, and mixes properly with the spinach. Shape the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.
Lightly butter a 13 by 9-inch casserole dish, lay all the gnocchi in it, and dress it with a few very thin slices butter and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Cook the gnocchi at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, and then use the broiler for the last 5 minutes to crisp and brown the top of the spinach balls.
In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, and saute the sage until it starts to brown. Serve the gnocchi on a warm plate and dress with the sage-butter sauce, and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com

My kids took a photo of their mama rolling spinach and cheese gnocchi.

Only thing that I changed from the original recipe is the herb, instead of sage I used fresh basil from our garden and also I used extra virgin olive oil instead of butter for the basil- olive oil sauce.

This is such a fabulous dish, I can’t wait to make it again:)

Among the World’s Healthiest vegetables, spinach comes out at the top of our ranking list for nutrient richness. Rich in vitamins and minerals, it is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and flavonoids to provide you with powerful antioxidant protection.
Pure, extra virgin olive oil is not only a light and delicate addition to many wonderful dishes, it is one of the most health-promoting types of oils available. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are discovering has excellent health benefits.

Spinach

Extra Virgin Olive Oil