Chicche della nonna

Primi

Chicche della nonna

Recommended track: Stevie Wonder – As

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 600 g potatoes
• 300 g flour
• 300 g spinach
• 250 g ricotta
• 2 eggs
• Salt to taste

1. Cook the Potatoes: Boil the potatoes with their skins (preferably steam them).
2. Prepare the Spinach: Cook the spinach, drain, let cool slightly, and then squeeze out the excess water.
3. Mash and Chop: Peel the potatoes and mash them directly on the cutting board. While they cool, finely chop the spinach using a mezzaluna or knife.
4. Combine Ingredients: Add the chopped spinach, ricotta (well-drained if it’s watery), eggs, salt, and 3/4 of the flour to the mashed potatoes. Adjust the flour depending on the texture of the dough. The required amount may vary based on the potatoes’ moisture, the spinach, and the ricotta’s consistency. The dough should be well combined, neither too sticky nor too compact. Start with 3/4 of the flour and add more gradually as needed; you might need a few extra spoonfuls.
5. Shape the “Chicche”: Similar to making classic potato gnocchi, take a small piece of dough and roll it into a thin cylinder (much thinner than gnocchi). Line up several cylinders and cut them into small gnocchi-like pieces. Sprinkle them with flour to prevent sticking, and place them on a separate board.
6. Cook the “Chicche”: Once all the pieces are ready, cook them in plenty of boiling salted water for a few minutes until they float to the surface.

For the Sauce, Choose One of Two Options:

1. Classic Tomato and Basil Sauce:
   Prepare a simple tomato and basil sauce.
2. Vegetable Sauce:
   Sauté finely chopped celery, carrots, onion, parsley, and basil in olive oil (and a small knob of butter). Add tomato puree and simmer for about 20 minutes, then blend everything using a food mill.

Serve with plenty of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

(In the photos, the dough shown is a double portion of the recipe. Due to the large amount of dough, I opted to cut the chicche slightly larger than usual. Unsurprisingly, not a single one was left after 25 minutes!)

Some more photos of the process