Jordan and Sarah Macdonald, the team behind busy cafe and bistro Duo in Birkenhead, have brought their delicious take on Italian fare to Auckland’s North Shore with their latest venture Osteria Uno. Here they share the recipe for one of their popular dishes so you can recreate the magic at home this summer.
Soft and pillowy, gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings but made with ricotta instead of potato. Here, they’re teamed with a fresh and tasty watercress pesto and finished with some marinated cheese for a satisfying yet light and summery supper.
RICOTTA GNUDI WITH WATERCRESS PESTO RECIPE
Serves 4
20 gnudi
200g watercress pesto
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts, for serving
Fresh lemon, for zesting and juicing
4-5 cubes marinated goat or buffalo cheese
Gnudi
500g ricotta (we used Zany Zeus)
2 egg yolk
30g “00″ flour
30g grated parmesan
2 lemons, zest only
2kg semolina flour, for dusting (this seems a lot, but it can be reused)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Watercress pesto
1 large bunch watercress, approx 200g
50g basil
50g parsley
20g pinenuts, toasted
30g parmesan
100ml good-quality olive oil
50ml iced water
- To make the gnudi: Combine the ricotta, egg yolk, “00″ flour, and parmesan in a bowl, then add the lemon zest and salt and pepper and mix again.
- In a large, deep, nonreactive baking pan or plastic container, spread out a layer of semolina flour about 5mm thick.
- Roll the gnudi mixture into 20 balls and then place them on the semolina flour in a single layer, making sure they do not touch. Cover the gnudi with the remaining semolina flour and chill in the fridge for 24 hours. After 24 hours the semolina will have formed a crust on the gnudi – this helps them hold their shape.
- To make the watercress pesto: Prepare an ice water bath in a bowl. Blanch the watercress and parsley in salted boiling water for 45 seconds, then chill down in the ice water bath. Remove greens from the iced water and squeeze all liquid out in a tea towel.
- In a blender or food processor, add all the ingredients, apart from the 50ml iced water, and start to blend, slowly add the water if it’s needed and blend to a smooth consistency. Place in a container in the fridge to cool down, this will last two days in the fridge.
- To make the final dish: Cook the gnudi in batches in salted boiling water for 3 minutes making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Remove them with a slotted spoon.
- Meanwhile, heat up a saucepan on low heat, add 100ml of gnudi cooking water and the pesto. Add the gnudi and warm the sauce through, taste and adjust seasoning.
- Divide evenly on four plates with plenty of pesto sauce, break up a cube of goat or buffalo cheese and dot around the plate. Sprinkle some pine nuts around the plate, squeeze a little lemon juice and microplane a little lemon zest on to each dish.
