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Ricotta gnocchi with bell pepper cream and sausage

17/11/2023

Ricotta gnocchi with bell pepper cream and sausage is a colorful and flavorful dish that combines the delicacy of ricotta with the intense flavors of bell peppers and sausage. Here is the recipe with an Italian touch:

Ingredients

For ricotta gnocchi:

  • 250 g of ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 75-100 g of flour, plus more for processing
  • Salt, to taste
  • Nutmeg, as desired

For the bell pepper cream:

  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

For the sausage:

  • 200 g of pork sausage (or your preferred variant)
  • White wine, as needed (for deglazing)

For garnishing:

  • Grated Parmesan cheese, as needed
  • Fresh basil or other herbs for decoration

Preparation

Ricotta gnocchi:

  1. In a bowl, mix the ricotta with the egg, salt, and a pinch of grated nutmeg until you get a homogeneous mixture.
  2. Gradually add the flour, until you obtain a dough that comes off the sides of the bowl but remains soft.
  3. Flour a work surface, take a bit of the ricotta dough, and form cylinders. Cut the cylinders into pieces about 2 cm long and, if you like, you can press lightly with a fork to give them the classic ridges.
  4. Boil a pot of salted water and cook the gnocchi until they float, then remove them with a slotted spoon.

Bell pepper cream:

  1. Grill the bell peppers until the skin turns black, then put them in a plastic bag or in a covered bowl and let them cool. Once cooled, peel them and remove seeds and internal filaments.
  2. In a pan, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil, then add the sliced bell peppers and cook for a few minutes.
  3. Transfer everything to a blender and puree until you get a cream; adjust with salt and pepper and put back on heat for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

Sausage:

  1. Remove the skin from the sausage and crumble it in a pan with a drizzle of oil. Let it cook until it becomes crispy, then deglaze with a splash of white wine and let the alcohol evaporate.

Dish assembly:

  1. Serve the ricotta gnocchi on a bed of bell pepper cream, add the crumbled sausage on top and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
  2. Decorate with basil leaves and serve hot.

A curiosity: Ricotta gnocchi is a lighter and more delicate variant of traditional potato gnocchi, typical of Italian culinary tradition. They are perfect if you want a tasty first course but at the same time refined.