Lila’s Cinnamon Caramelized Gnocchi

Ingredients

• FOR THE GNOCCHI
• 1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE
• 1/4 lb butter (one stick)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1.5 oz white chocolate, chopped or grated

Equipment

• Large pot for boiling water
• Large bowl x 2
• Cutting board or large flat surface
• Wooden spoon
• Teaspoon x 2
• Slotted spoon
• Heavy-bottomed, high-sided pan

Here is how:

GNOCCHI

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Combine the flour, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Add the ricotta and the egg, and mix lightly until combined. Do not overmix or your gnocchi will be hard. You can add a bit more flour as needed, but you want the dough to be stiff and still sticky.
4. Generously flour a cutting board or other flat surface and spoon drop small amounts of the dough onto it. The size is up to you, but somewhere between a fingertip and a grape works nicely.
5. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water, but don't overcrowd the pot. Do multiple batches if you have to.
6. The gnocchi will rise to the surface, but should cook for about 5 minutes. Make sure they don't have a sponge-like texture.
7. When done, remove the gnocchi using a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl or plate.
8. Add the gnocchi into the sauce and sauté for a minute or two.

CINNAMON CARAMEL SAUCE

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a high-sided pan. 
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add sugars, stirring constantly.
3. Once the sugars have melted (you'll see they are no longer granular—about 3–4 minutes), stir in the cinnamon.
4. Add in the gnocchi and stir with a wooden spoon (or toss!) until well coated.
5. To serve, divide the hot gnocchi into bowls, and top each with a small amount of white chocolate.

Additional info:

This ricotta gnocchi is a super simple recipe you can make with your kids. Since it has no parmesan cheese, it is neutral enough to become either a savoury or sweet dish. Use a simple pomodoro (tomato) sauce and go from there, or try it as dessert! We had some fun paring this gnocchi with a cinnamon caramel sauce and topped it with white chocolate. The recipe was inspired by this one: http://www.banfibanter.com/wine-and-food/gnocchi-for-dessert/.

Recipe Attribution: Inspired by a recipe from a cookbook titled 'The Fire Island Cookbook' by Jeff Jenssen and Mike DeSimone.