Mollie Katzen's (Moosewood's) Ricotta Gnocci

[pax]

The recipe calls for the chilled balls of raw ricotta, egg, flour, mozzarella and pepper to be floured and then boiled, and then broiled in butter.

Is there any reason I can't just deep fry these, or even brown them in hot cast iron skillet? To what temp do you think I need to get these dairy products/eggs? I'm thinking it might not be so tender but who doesn't enjoy a nice crunchy ball of gooey cheese? What kind of differences do you think I'd see?

[tim]

Hi,

If you overcook ricotta gnocchi they can get dry and unappetizing. They can also come apart in a rolling boil; they are usually simmered until they float.

I suspect they might not hold up in a deep fryer.

After they are simmered, I sometimes saute them in butter just to add some color and to dry the surface. This adds to the outer texture without drying the interior.

Tim

[pax]

I'm sorry, you are of course correct. The exact instructions say bring the water to a boil, then lower to a simmer. It took about 6 and a half minutes for them to come to the top at the simmer, at which point I put half of them into a warm, brushed with olive oil cast iron pan, rolled them around to coat, and put them under the broiler.

The other half I threw in the deep fryer. The overwhelming majority preferred the fried gnocchi to the broiled ones. You get a quick crisp crust in just seconds on them in the deep fryer and the insides stay meltingly soft. The ones under the broiler were tougher to cut through (actually had to use a knife) and seemed to have become doughier. More like a steamed dumpling.

I'll fry them next time. A minute at 350 was perfect.

I served them with some really fantastic tomatoes marinated in olive oil and a delicious balsamic, fresh basil and a little salt, over homemade green pepper pasta. It was totally delicious. I need a wheelbarrow to carry my belly around in front of me. Even my picky 7 yo ate until she oinked. : )

[FoodMan]

I've never tried it, but I'm thinking just deep frying these is not a good idea. You will most likely end up with one of two results:

- Disntegrated gnocchi in the hot oil

- A tough crispy exterior, with a dense raw interior

The gentle simmering in water is what make them hold their shape together, cook slowly and turn nice and light.

[SobaAddict70]

6 and a half minutes sounds like an awfully long time.

Also I've never heard of mozzarella in ricotta gnocchi. That could account for the length of time it took for the gnocchi to float.

[pax]

It might be my simmer was just too slow. It might be that my gnocchi were too big.

The recipe calls for mozz, ricotta, and parmesan, with binder, egg and flour.

Having done it both ways after the simmer....broiled AND deep fried, I'd go with the deep fried next time. The interior was softer and the crust was thin and crispy, as opposed to the tough skin the broiler produced.