Who said that the dough for dumplings has to have potatoes in it? If you’re looking for a variation on one of the most celebrated pasta dishes in Italian cuisine, try our recipe for gnocchetti all’acqua, with hints of lemon and confit tomatoes.
If there is a first course that brings to our memory the homey atmosphere of a Sunday morning, it is definitely gnocco. Perhaps, with plenty of homemade tomato sauce and a basil leaf to top it all off.
Our blogger, however, wanted to combine tradition with a touch of innovation: she chose spelt flour and preferred to season the dish with confit tomatoes. The result? Equally great.
Now, all you have to do is find out ingredients and preparation: you have water dumplings to make!
Ingredients for 3 people
For the dumplings:
- 200 g of water
- 160 g spelt semolina DOP, Monteleone di Spoleto
- nutmeg
- the grated rind of ½ a lemon
- type 1 flour (for dusting)
- salt and pepper to taste.
For the confit tomatoes:
- 500 g cherry tomatoes
- brown sugar
- salt and pepper to taste.
To complete:
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemon peel
- seasoned sheep ricotta
Preparation of water dumplings
First, devote yourself to preparing the confit tomatoes.
Turn on the oven to 140 °C, wash your cherry tomatoes, dry them and cut them in half. Take a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and arrange your cherry tomatoes. Season with two pinches of salt, pepper and two pinches of brown sugar. Bake and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
While the confit tomatoes finish cooking, you can move on to the gnocchetti.
Pourwater into a saucepan, add a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a little nutmeg and the grated zest of half a lemon. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
Pour the flour by sprinkling it into the saucepan, stirring vigorously with a whisk or fork. Transfer the hot mixture to a lightly floured work surface and knead it with your hands, kneading for a few minutes to make a soft but firm dough ball.
Once warm, cover thedough with a tea towel and let it rest for half an hour.
At this point, take thegnocchi dough again and divide it into 8 parts. Dust the work surface again with a little flour and form a long narrow strand with each part.
Cut the strands into regular chunks and run each chunk over the dumpling line or the tines of a fork. Alternatively, you can roll each chunk into a ball, resulting in the goodies.
Once all the dumplings have been formed, cover them with a tea towel and let them rest while you wait for the tomatoes to come to cook.
The time has come to cook the water dumplings.
Bring a pot filled with water to a boil, add a handful of salt and dip the gnocchi. Let them cook for exactly 1 minute from when they come to the surface and drain with a slotted spoon.
Season the gnocchi with confit tomatoes, a little raw oil, lemon zest and a grating of seasoned ricotta.
NB → You can also freeze the dumplings when they are raw. Before storing them in a freezer bag, though, freeze them well separated in a tray. You’ll only need to plunge them into boiling salted water to use them up when you just don’t know what to make for lunch!
For the recipe, thanks to Elena of With a Little Sugar.
