Ricotta gnocchi - a lesson in reading

With all of that homeade ricotta around, I was itching to make some gnocchi.  I used this epicurious recipe.  After making two batches of ricotta gnocchi, I seriously wonder how anyone would ever use potato as a gnocchi filler.  Every description I read about good gnocchi is that it's this light, airy, ethereal dumpling.  Every review I read of someone making potato gnocchi is exactly the opposite - heavy, leaden, and filling.

Last year when Rebecca, Jonathan, and I did our fava bean fest, I made ricotta gnocchi to highlight the fresh flavor of the fava beans.  It was exactly what gnocchi has been described.  Now that I can make ricotta on a whim - having an endless supply of lemons and easy access to good milk, gnocchi would be an everyday occurence. 

If you are making gnocchi from homemade ricotta, be prepared to add in the flour a little at a time because you will need less flour.  Homeamde ricotta is much drier.  This is a huge plus because flour = heavy.  The one challenge was actually reading the damn recipe because I had the gnocchi all rolled out in a long snake and ready to be cut into bite sized pieces when I realized I forgot the parmesan.  I kneaded the parmesan in and then realized I only needed ONE cup and I would use the remaining half a cup for the sauce.  ARGH!  But all worked out well as my tester gnocchi turned out fine, despite all of the kneading to incorporate the forgotten parmesan. 

Right now the gnocchi sit in my freezer ready to be eaten. I am holding off until Rebecca, Angela and i get it togetehr to do mozarella making - preferably in Angela's well appointed kitchen.