‘Ndunderi (Ricotta Gnocchi) with Tomato Sauce
I think we can all agree that there is something very comforting and delightful about baked pasta dishes, be it lasagna, stuffed shells, mac and cheese, or what have you. They’re very warming, so they’re perfect for cold weather. They taste great, and it seems like you can make them with just about any pasta, sauce, or cheese that you want.
Today, I’ll be showing you how to make ricotta gnocchi known along the Amalfi Coast as ‘ndunderi (Dune-der-ee) that will be baked with a simple tomato sauce and some smoked cheese for a cheesy, slightly sweet flavor explosion that will delight the taste buds of anyone you serve it to.
Serves 4-6
For the ‘ndunderi (Dune-der-ee)
9 ounces of ricotta cheese
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup of flour, plus more if needed
1 1/2 oz of grated Parmigiano
Salt
Pepper
A pinch of ground nutmeg
Sliced fresh basil, to serve
For the Sauce:
2 (14 ounce) cans of tomatoes, I prefer crushed but any canned tomatoes you have will be fine
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt
7 oz of smoked cheese, shredded (scamorza, smoked mozzarella, or even smoked gouda will work)
1/2 oz of grated Parmigiano
To make the ‘ndunderi, Put the ricotta into a strainer over either a bowl or the sink and leave it for 30 minutes to remove any excess liquid. After 30 minutes, dump the ricotta into a bowl then add all of the other ‘ndunderi ingredients, apart from the basil, then until it’s just combined, the more you work the dough the tougher the ‘ndunderi will be in the end.
Cover the dough with a paper towel or clean dish towel, then let the dough chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Doing this will make the dough easier to handle and mean that you won’t need to add much more flour.
To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients except for the cheeses in a saucepan. Fill the cans from your tomatoes with water, swirl that around, then add that as well to keep the sauce from burning. Bring it to a simmer, then let it cook for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the onion is very soft. Remove the bay leaf, then blitz with a stick blender until smooth.
Stir in half of the smoked cheese and continue cooking until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
Once your dough is chilled, divide it in half then roll each half on a lightly floured surface into a thick rope, about 1 inch thick, then cut into small pieces. How large you want to make these is up to you, as long as they’re an even size, but I aim for about a 1/2-inch thickness.
Dust the prongs of a long fork with flour, then gently roll each piece of dough along the tines to create ridges that will allow the dumplings to grab onto the sauce a lot easier.
When ready to cook the ‘ndunderi, heat the oven to 400 degrees and bring a saucepan full of salted water to a boil. Cook your dumplings in the water, not letting the water get hotter than a simmer, until all of your dumplings float to the top of the water, you may need to do this in batches.
Toss the dumplings with the sauce, then dump into a 10 inch baking dish. Top with the remaining smoked cheese and the Parmigiano, then bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Spoon into bowls, then top with shredded basil.
Now, if this dish doesn’t convince you to become vegetarian for one night, then I honestly don’t know what will. The dumplings themselves are full of cheesy goodness with a hint of nuttiness from the nutmeg. You get a nice balance of sweetness and acidity from the sauce, and that baked cheese on top takes this dish to a whole new dimension.
