Gnocchi are Italian small, quick-cooking dumplings that are typically made with either potato or ricotta along with flour, eggs and cheese. I really love ricotta gnocchi. You can really make ricotta gnocchi in as little time as it takes you to boil the water to cook them . But today, I decided to try something different. I lightened classic recipe up by reducing the amount of ricotta and by adding spinach. That way classic Italian dumplings got a boost of flavor and nutrients from vitamin-rich spinach. I also used Spelt flour because I wanted my gnocchi to be gluten free. Youve never eaten spinach ricotta gnocchi like this light and fluffy. It makes an impressive starter or main dish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
(Vegetarian, low calories)

Ingredients:

For gnocchi:
4 cups fresh spinach, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups ricotta
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup Spelt flour

For tomato sauce:
3 lb fresh, rip tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optionl)

Directions:

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato and cook for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is thicken. Remove from the heat, season to taste and add chopped basil. Mix well, and set aside.
Cook the spinach in boiling water for one minute. Place the spinach in a colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Squeeze out any excess water. Mix the flour, spinach, ricotta and seasoning together in a food processor or in a large bowl to form a soft, moist dough.
Tip the mixture out onto a floured work surface and roll the dough into a long, thin sausage shape, then cut into dumplings about 1 inch long.
Cook the gnocchi for 2-3 minutes in a large saucepan of salted boiling water or until they float to the top . Drain the gnocchi and stir in tomato sauce. Top with grated Parmesan and serve