"LEGENDS from EUROPE" Recipe Contest Winner!!! ~ Parmigiano Reggiano Gnudi with Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato

Bisnonna Elvira's Italian flag Gnudi!  Mangiamo tutti!

Category winner for Parmigiano Reggiano

A taste of Emilia-Romagna ~ Parmigiano Reggiano!

The ingredient I was offered to explore when I accepted the challenge in the LEGENDS from EUROPE  "Market Recipe Contest for Blogger" is Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. LEGENDS fro EUROPE is the name of the campaign promoting the five high-quality European products: Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Mantasio, Prisciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele.

Before we continue with my recipe, let's cover an important order of business. There is a major difference between Parmesan and Parmigiano Reggiano. In order for a cheese to be called Parmigiano Reggiano, it must be a product of Italy. As with many Italian agricultural products, there are very strict standards an Italian cheese-maker must abide by for it's product to be stamped a Parmigiano Reggiano. The cows who graze in Emilia-Romagna are nurtured and at times, a hand-fed specialty grasses that produce a complex flavor; results are a salty, nuttiness, with an almost caramel finish. These notes make it perfect for a variety of dishes, from sweet to savory, which is why I love cooking with it so much.

Recipe makes 15 fluffy gnudi

Gnudi are “naked” ravioli, (without the pasta around it). The name, actually, means naked, in a dialect form. They differ from gnocchi in that they are larger, lighter and fluffier, as they are made with fresh ricotta, freshly shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and breadcrumbs. 

 We ate spinach gnudi, as part of a first course while in Italy, but, and as a tribute to my Italian heritage, I wanted to prepare a variation on the dish that uses the colors of the Italian flag by featuring  Parmigiano Reggiano, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.

These gnudi are light and pillowy, with the richness of Parmigiano Reggiano as the dominant flavor. I lightly browned mine before serving, but you can certainly skip that step, if you desire. The brown butter sauce using white wine is a vibrant sauce, and the textural elements of the toasted pine nuts are the perfect finishing touches! 

My Bisnonna (great-grandmother) Elvira (Piacente) Iannone's roots are from a small town called Piacenze in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Northern Italy, so Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, certainly, holds a special rank with me. I remember eating chunks of it dipped in balsamic syrup, and shaving it on almost everything! We certainly cooked with a lot of this cheese growing up, and I hope she would approve of my variation on this traditional dish!

When you purchase a genuine Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy,  you are choosing a cheese that is not just manufactured; this cheese is made the same way today as it was over eight centuries ago, and is a product of the P.D.O (Protected Designation of Origin) which holds very strict specifications in order to bear the entitlement of the Parmigiano Reggiano "stamp." So, you know you are getting the best of the best. And, aren't you worth it?!

  Quality ingredients make all the difference!

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups of fresh, organic ricotta cheese (drained in a cheesecloth-lined strainer)
1/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes (chopped roughly)

3 cups of baby spinach (steamed)
¼ cup of all purpose flour
¼ cup of panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (grated)
2 egg yolks (beaten)
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of white wine

 2 tablespoon of butter
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of cracked black pepper
½ cup of pine nuts (toasted)

A cinch to make! ~ Andiamo!

PREPARATION: 

 1.) In a large skillet with a about 1/4 cup of water, wilt the baby spinach on low heat. Drain water and set aside.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta,sun-dried tomato pieces, flour, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, nutmeg, and thoroughly mix with a fork so that all ingredients are incorporated. 

3.) Separate the egg yolk from the whites and beat the yolks a bit. Add yolks and spinach to mixture and mix with fork to thoroughly incorporate. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

TO COOK GNUDI:

1.) Bring a medium sauce pan of salted water to a boil. 

2.) Using two tablespoons, scoop an egg-sized amount of gnudi mixture, and use this first one as your tester.

3.) Lightly, drop it in the boiling water. (If it stays together, you may continue with the batch. If it comes apart a bit, you need to add more breadcrumbs to the mixture.)

4.) Continue forming all the gnudi, lining them up on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Working in small batched of three at a time, drop the gnudi into the boiling water. They will cook very quickly, and they are ready when they begin to float (about 1 ½-2 minutes). Quickly remove them from the water and line on another parchment-lined baking sheet.  (Do not let them remain in water, as they will over-cook.)

PREPARE SAUCE: 

 1.) In a medium-sized sauté pan on medium heat, brown the butter and when it begins to form a light-brown color, add the cracked black pepper and white wine.

2.). Turn the heat down to low and reduce for a couple minutes. Remove from heat.

3.)   In a separate sauté pan on medium-high heat, melt about a tablespoon of butter.

4.) Add the extra virgin olive oil, and carefully toss gnudi to coat in sauce. 

5.) At the last minute, toss in the pine nuts to toast them slightly. (Do not leave the pine nuts over the heat too long, as they will burn very quickly).

6.) Garnish with additional shavings of  Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Makes 15 Gnudi

"All the colors of the Italian flag."