(I know a lot of people know Gnocchi made with potatoes. I much prefer the light Gnocchi made with ricotta cheese...)

Ingredients:
12 oz. fresh ricotta, well drained
3 1/2 oz. Parmigiano
4 eggs (2 whole, 2 yolks)
Flour
salt

Sieve the ricotta into a bowl. Add the eggs (2 whole and 2 yolks), half the
parmigiano and a pinch of salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon, adding as
much flour as needed to obtain a firm but soft dough so that the gnocchetti
will hold their shape. The quantity of flour given in this recipe is only an
approximation; more may be needed if the ricotta has not been properly
drained. By using a dessert spoon make dumplings about the size of a
walnut. Bring a generous amount of salted water to boil in a large pot add
the gnocchi and stir gently. Cook until the gnocchi float to the top. Drain
and arrange in layers in a soup tureen, seasoning each layer with the
desired sauce and the remainder of the parmigiano. A preferred sauce for
this type of gnocchi is a light tomato sauce, or melted butter and grated
parmigiano. Serve very hot. NOTE: As with malfatti, this preparation may
be kept over a bainmarie for 5 minutes before serving

Advanced option:
There is a technique to make the Gnocchi pieces that involves:
Rolling out the dough to be about 3/8 inch thick.
Taking your finger near the edge of the dough, and pressing down and dragging it away from the dough slab.
What you should pull away is a "curl" of dough that you toss into the water.

• 1/2 lb linguini style macaroni
• 3 eggs well beaten
• 1/2 c of grated parmesan cheese added to the beaten eggs
• 1/4 lb of boiled ham (the cheap way, or you can buy the more expensive and traditional prosciutto)

Square cut and Sauté the ham/prosciutto in margarine or butter until medium crisp. Add a little white wine, and let it evaporate. Put aside.
Cooke the linguine al dente, drain, and butter them well.
Add the beaten eggs & parmesan mixture and a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cream over the linguine.
Lastly mix in the ham/prosciutto

Serve warm.





Prosciutto

Serves 4

In heavy 10-12 inch skillet combine and heat till butter is melted:
• 2 T olive oil
• 4 T Butter
Add & cook till just starts to brown
• 2 t garlic finely chopped
Add & stir till blended
• 1 T (Heaping) All-pourpose Flour
Add & heat till well blended
• 1/4 c dry white wine
• 1c clam broth (bottled)
Cook till slightly thickened then add and bring back to simmer
• 2 doz Littleneck clams (steamed, shucked, coarsely chopped or good grade canned clams)
Sprinkle with
• 1/4 t Red pepper seeds
• 2 T Parsley finely chopped

(What is odd, is that I remember always waiting until after the clams to add the white wine... the white wine would cool the mixture and then it would thicken up like magic...)