Dinner tonight: ricotta gnocchi, sautéed shrimp and spinach with an house Alfredo sauce

 

16 shrimp - shelled and deveined 

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic 

1/2 onion - thin sliced

2 handfuls spinach

1/4 cup heavy cream 

1/3 cup pasta water

1/2 -1 cup parmesan grated

1 tsp salt kosher 

this dish goes quickly. i start with the water salted and almost boiling for the pasta and be ready to serve with in 15 minutes of starting.  

in a braising pan add olive oil, butter, garlic and onions on medium low heat to sweat the onions and infuse the oleos, sauté for a few minutes. 

turn up the heat and add the shrimp, turn as soon as the bottom starts to look pink. once you've turned the shrimp and let the bottom side to start to turn pick toss in the spinach. sauté for a minute or two. 

i took the shrimp out of the pan to not over cook and to finish sauce and drop the gnocchi in

(the pasta should be cooking and almost done at this time)

add the pasta water and cream and let it bubble for a minute. 

add the gnocchi to the pan and then add the parmesan and stir - the sauce should start to thicken to perfection. 

ricotta gnocchi 

i made the ricotta gnocchi ahead of time and had it in the freezer. 

large pot of salted water boiling. 

dropped the gnocchi and waited for them to rise to the top of the pot and then added them to the alfredo

sauce and cook for a few minutes to finish cooking.

 GNOCCHI WHEATASTIC 

1 cup (about 4 ounces) ap flour 
3/4 cup (about 1 ounce) freshly-grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese

3 egg yolks

Add the wet ingredients (egg yolks to the ricotta) and stir to combine.  

Add in the dry (flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper) and stir until evenly combined but do not over work. 

The dough will be a bit moist and have a sticky texture and should be holding together. 

If it is too wet add in flour but a tablespoons at a time.

Form the dough into a flat circle and cut into evenly sized triangles.

Take each triangle and roll the dough into 3/4-inch wide ropes and slice into little pillows.

Toss with care with flour to help keep them from sticking to each other. 

Boil salted water and add the gnocchi and cook to desired texture but this happens quickly. 

Remove from water and add to a sauce ( our favorite is blue cheese with nuts).