Malfatti with Sage Butter sauce

Malfatti are gnocchi like morsels of pasta from Tuscany also known as Gnudi. Malfatti in Italian means “badly formed”. These tender, fluffy, delicate dumplings are made with a mixture of blanched spinach which gives the dumplings a vibrant green colour, ricotta, parmigiana and flour are a true Italian classic. They are a great addition to any meal and go great with burnt butter, sage butter sauce or tomato sauce. My personal favourite pairing however is with this beautiful, rich sage butter sauce which compliments all of the flavours of the Malfatti perfectly.

Both the malfatti and the sauce don’t require a lot of ingredients, and are quite simple to make. The Malfatti’s main ingredients are spinach, ricotta, and parmigiana, with all purpose and semolina flour added to help get the texture in the dumplings and ensure it binds together well. Although spinach and ricotta Malfatti are pretty easy to make, it’s important to get the consistency right. If the ingredients are too ‘wet’, you’ll need more flour and the Malfatti will become dense and heavy. So, it’s essential that you drain the spinach and ricotta well. The addition of nutmeg provides a warm, nutty feeling and flavour, making the dish more flavourful and aromatic.

The sage butter sauce pairs brilliantly with malfatti, and another one which goes well is a rich tomato sauce. It is very simple sauce using 4 ingredients, but ends up being packed with flavour. The butter of course is the main ingredient and gives it, its texture and consistency while the earthy, slightly peppery flavour of the sage infuses the butter with flavour making it a perfect sauce to serve. This malfatti with sage butter sauce is a great dish and once you’ve tried this recipe, you’ll have a hard time resisting it.

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Helpful Tips and Tricks to make Malfatti:

• If you need to you can prepare the raw Malfatti a day before, cover them with semolina and keep them in an air tight container in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.
• The number of Malfatti you make will depend on the size. I’ve made about 50 Malfatti with the below recipe. Cooking times will also vary depending on the size of your Malfatti.
• If you don’t want to end up with a very soft dough it’s important to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can. You will also have to drain the ricotta throughly.
•  The key to making a tender malfatti is to use as little flour as possible to make the dough. Flour makes the malfatti dense and heavy.

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Malfatti with Sage Butter Sauce

Serves: 50 Pieces Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

• 600 grams fresh spinach
• 250 grams ricotta cheese, drained
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup semolina flour
• 50 grams Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

For Sage Butter:

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 20 sage leaves
• Pinch of salt
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated for topping (optional)

method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the spinach, boil for 2 minutes. Drain and plunge the spinach into ice water to stop it from cooking and to make sure it retains its vibrant green colour. Using your hands squeeze out all the water from the spinach, I had about 200 grams left after squeezing out all the water. Finely chop the spinach.
2. Add the spinach to a bowl along with drained ricotta, parmigiana, all purpose flour, semolina, pepper salt and nutmeg. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined and a soft dough is formed.
3. Roll the mixture into 2 inch cylinders or 4cm balls using your hands. 
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the malfatti to the boiling water and cook until they float to the surface.  Drain and toss in the sauce. 
5. To make the sage butter, heat butter in a large frying pan over a high heat until it starts to foam, roughly 30 seconds. Add the sage and cook until it's crisp and the butter starts to turn golden.

Notes

1. It's important to drain the ricotta because if you don't the malfatti ends up becoming too wet and will fall apart when placed in the boiling water.
2. You need to chop the spinach well to else the malfatti will end up having large strands of spinach.

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