If we could make ricotta gnocchi without the addition of flour, why then did we feel the need to still use egg yolk in our recipe? A safety net, of course. The additional protein from the egg yolk helped enrich the ricotta, which in turn stabilized our gnocchi base as we were forming it with the addition of Activa. I was impatient and wanted to see if my idea was sound. The gnocchi were delicious. Though if we were going to strip the gnocchi down to their essence, why stop five yards short of the finish line?
Thankfully, my recent shipment of Activa arrived, including a new blend—at least to me. Activa Y-G. Activa was formulated for dairy applications to prevent syneresis from occurring as well as adding a richer and more decadent mouthfeel to low-fat dairy products. In our case, the dairy-specific Activa allows us to make ricotta gnocchi without the addition of flour or eggs. We now have gnocchi that are 99 percent ricotta.
Now these gnocchi are not bulletproof. They are delicate, though they can take the abuse of traditional cooking as long as a bit of finesse is used. We have tried two preparations with these gnocchi so far: simply sautéed and baked in a gratin with white asparagus, scallions, and parmesan. In both cases, the gnocchi stood up to the cooking method while retaining their original shape and structure. Upon eating the gnocchi, these delicate pillows of cheese burst across your palate.
Furthermore, if we can make ricotta gnocchi this way, what is stopping us from trying this with goat cheese, mozzarella, or even yogurt? And if these applications are possible, what about looking at custards and cheesecakes? What can we do with them?
Leave a Reply