What's for Dinner Tonight? Italian Spinach Dumpling

Italian Spinach dumpling

INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh spinach, stemmed and washed

4 cups coarsely grated day-old bread

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

½ cup whole milk ricotta

1/4 cup cream cheese

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

All-purpose flour, for dusting

12 cubed pieces of Fontina cheese

3 tablespoons butter

12 fresh sage leaves

3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare an ice bath. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the spinach. Boil until wilted, about 4 minutes, drain and transfer to ice bath. Once cooled, place spinach in a cheesecloth and squeeze until completely dry. Transfer spinach to a clean workspace and finely chop.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, grated bread, 1 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta , cream cheese,1 tablespoon of the olive oil, egg and salt. Mix until everything is incorporated.

3. Place two tablespoons of the dough in the palm of your hand and flatten into a ¼-inch-thick disk. Place 1 cube of  cheese in the center of the disc. Bring the edges of the dough over to encase the cheese. Roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Dust with flour and set on a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough; you should have 12 dumplings.

4. Add the dumplings to the boiling water and cook until they begin to float, about 7 minutes. While the dumplings are cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to the skillet. Reserve ⅓ cup of pasta water. 

5. Fry the dumplings, rotating them with a wooden spoon so that all sides brown evenly, until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add the butter and sage to the pan and continue cooking for 2 minutes more, basting the dumplings with the butter.

6. Divide the dumplings and sage leaves among four plates. Add the vinegar and ⅓ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan and boil until reduced by half. Spoon sauce over dumplings and garnish with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.