I adore ricotta gnocchi, moreso than potato gnocchi, for the simple reason that it lends itself well to so many different preparations — most of which are vegetarian. It all depends on what’s available at the market or in my pantry.

Click here for a demo on ricotta gnocchi. This is a straight-up adaptation of Suzanne Goins’ recipe from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. I’ve made replicated her method several times — it’s foolproof and the results are well worth the effort.

Ricotta gnocchi with Sungold cherry tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms

Click here to view a large-size version of this picture.

Here, soft pillowy gnocchi are married with sweet tomatoes and piquant mushrooms in a buttery herb sauce. It’s perfect for a summer supper. If you don’t want to make the gnocchi, you can substitute penne, farfalle or fusilli instead.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1/2 cup Sungold cherry tomatoes, halved (leave a few whole)
a sprig of thyme, chopped
a handful of Italian parsley, chopped
kosher salt
freshly milled black pepper
pecorino Romano cheese

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute, or until they take on a little color. Add mushrooms and thyme; sauté until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes to the pan and lower heat to medium-low. Watch carefully, stirring occasionally. If the tomatoes begin to exude their juice, remove pan from heat to slow down the cooking process. You don’t want to cook them too much — just enough to gently warm them.

Ideally your gnocchi should be ready by this point. Add gnocchi directly to the skillet. Stir in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and the parsley. Taste for salt and pepper, then serve at once, passing cheese at the table.

Time: 1 hour, including prep (for both the sauce and the gnocchi dough). Using Suzanne’s method, draining the ricotta will take approximately 12 to 24 hours prior to making this dish.

This is my second submission for Presto Pasta Nights #173, a foodblog event hosted by Janet of The Taste Space and organized by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

22 Jul This entry was published on July 22, 2010 at 3:10 am. It’s filed under food, general, summer, vegetarian and tagged California cuisine, cheese, cherry tomatoes, dinner, gnocchi, mushrooms, pasta, ricotta, seasonal and local, slow food, Suzanne Goins, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.