Malfatti for the New Year!

'Malfatti' recipe by Chef Anna Klinger of Al Di Là in Brooklyn, New York

No, I did not take a picture of these babies once cooked and with their brown sage butter all over them, presented on my beautiful little recycled glass appy plates adorned with golden orange and blue diamonds.  I was too busy slinging food to 30 guests at our New Year's Eve party!  But I do remember how I made them, and that they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  A vegetarian delicacy that was the envy of all!  :)

You'll need:
-1 lb ricotta cheese, drained overnight in cheesecloth

-4 healthy bunches of swiss chard (~4 lbs) (I had merely 1lb from my garden, wilted, no less, from freezing, so we had to, dare I say it, GO TO THE STORE), stemmed, chopped, blanched and squeeeeezed dry

-flour, 1/4 c for the recipe, plus more for dusting

 -freshly grated nutmeg

-kosher salt and black pepper

-butter, 2 sticks unsltd, melted

4 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg (we cooked and ate the whites for lunch the day I made these)

-fresh sage leaves, ~20 (these, thankfully, are barely harmed by winter's wrath, so I plucked these from the garden as well)

freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving


From Saveur's website:
1. Put ricotta in a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl and let drain overnight in refrigerator. Measure 1 1/4 cups drained ricotta and reserve any remaining ricotta for another use.


2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add chard; cook until soft, 3–4 minutes. Drain chard and let cool. Squeeze chard with your hands to expel liquid. Transfer chard to center of a tea towel, bring up edges, and squeeze to expel remaining liquid. Transfer chard to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer chard to a large bowl along with drained ricotta, 1 tsp. salt, 8 tbsp. butter, flour, nutmeg, egg yolks, and egg. Season with pepper and mix until smooth. (Test 1 dumpling: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Measure out 1 tbsp. of mixture, roll in flour, and boil until the dumpling floats. If dumpling falls apart, stir 1/4 cup more flour into mixture.)

3. Using a spoon, divide mixture into about 40 portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, use 2 spoons to shape portion into an oval and dust with flour. Transfer dumplings to a lightly floured baking sheet and repeat with remaining portions. (If not cooking immediately, cover and freeze malfatti for up to 6 months.)

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add dumplings; cook until dumplings float, 1–2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to a baking sheet. Meanwhile, heat remaining butter in a 10" skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add sage and cook until leaves are crisp, 1 minute. Divide dumplings between 6 serving plates, drizzle with sage butter, and garnish with more Parmesan and nutmeg, if you like.

Saveur photo