Leftover ingredient magic
I’ve obviously made it very clear that I don’t enjoy eating leftovers, generally. Therefore, I cook our meals accordingly so there’s no extras, and ideally no waste. Yes, this means I end up cooking more individual meals and more work is required, but if you actually cook the portions you need, it doesn’t feel as laborious.
And with this method often comes leftover ingredients. However, this is a leftover I can get behind. I’m happy to repurpose an element of an old recipe and revive it. Which is exactly what happened tonight — yes, I’m impressed with myself because this worked out well, and also because it allowed me to put off hitting the store by one more day.
Key ingredients I had leftover: Ricotta, tomato paste, heavy cream, shallots
Items I had (always have) on-hand: Olive oil, garlic, S&P, red pepper flakes, eggs, flour, butter, parmesan, vodka
What I’m saying is that between what I keep in the fridge and in cabinets, and what I had left from recent past recipes, I was able to create some magic in the form of homemade ricotta gnocchi and my favorite spicy, thick vodka sauce.
NYT Cooking’s Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi + BA’s Vodka Sauce
Notes for the chef:
While assembling and cooking the gnocchi takes time, the process is easy, fast and not delicate. I formed mine fairly quickly, so while they’re ugly and different sizes, they tasted great.
Actually test cook one to check if you should add more flour.
As you’ll hopefully see, I did not make the brown butter sage sauce from the NYT recipe, but instead paired it with a new sauce. I thought it worked really well.
I didn’t have fresh basil, so I skipped this in the sauce. Obviously add it if you have it!
Your “gnocchi water” can totally act as pasta water. You’re just going for starchy liquid here to emulsify the sauce a bit and thin it.
Shocker, but serve this with a simple green salad! I know I suggest this a lot, but I like to always have something green with dinner, and pasta just works best with salad.
