gnudi (with cottage cheese)

Noodles & Pasta

Drescription

These Cottage Cheese Gnudi are a fun twist on the Italian classic—pillowy, protein-packed, and surprisingly easy to make.

1 ¼ cups 2% cottage cheese (i love good culture (drained well))
¼ cup parmesan cheese (or pecorino romano, freshly grated, plus more for garnish)
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
1 batch marinara sauce (homemade or 1 (28 ounce) jar good quality jarred sauce)
1 sprig fresh basil (plus more for garnish)

Lightly flour a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
Add the cottage cheese to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Blend until smooth. Transfer the blended cottage cheese to a mixing bowl. Add the parmesan cheese, egg yolk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the bowl and stir to combine. Add in 3/4 cup flour and use a rubber spatula to mix it until it just comes together into a ball. If its not holding together, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough will be sticky.
Lightly flour your hands and make about 36 rustic, quarter sized balls, placing them on the prepared baking sheet as you finish rolling them. When your hands get sticky, just coat them with some more flour before continuing. Once you finish with all the dough, place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes, while you make the sauce. If using jarred sauce, heat the over low heat to a simmer and cover. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Once the water is boiling, add the Gnudi to the pot. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until they float to the top. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the Gnudi to the pot with the sauce. Stir to coat the Gnudi in the sauce.
To serve, divide the Gnudi and sauce in four bowls and top with basil and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.