Ricotta Dumplings with Sun-Dried Tomato Romesco & Blue Cheese

Ricotta Dumplings with Sun-dried Tomato Romesco and Crumbled Blue Cheese

YIELD Makes 4 to 6 servings

If you're a cheese fiend you'll love this one: Warm ricotta dumplings, served with a savory sun-dried tomato romesco sauce, topped off with crumbles of blue cheese. Serve, enjoy, repeat.

INGREDIENTS

For the sun-dried tomato romesco: 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup piquillo peppers 1 Teaspoon pimenton 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 ounces Point Reyes Blue cheese (or Valderon) 1/4 cup of basil, chiffonade For the dumplings: salt 1 cup ricotta cheese 3 egg yolks 1 pinch of nutmeg 1/3 cup of flour

PREPARATION:

Sun-dried Tomato Romesco

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic and nuts with a small amount of oil. Grind into a fine moist paste. Add the sherry vinegar, pimenton, sun-dried tomatoes and piquillo peppers and puree for a few minutes.
2. With the machine on, slowly pour 1/2 cup of olive oil until sauce is the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Dumplings

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, then reduce the heat to moderate to maintain a very gentle boil.
2. Combine the ricotta with the egg yolks, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually stir in the flour to form a soft dough. Test the dumpling dough before adding more flour by dropping a small spoonful of the dough into the boiling water.
3. Once the dumpling floats to the surface, let it poach for 45 seconds. If the dumplings break apart while cooking, you’ll need to add a bit more flour to the dough and test again. Just don’t overwork the dough, or it will become tough.
4. Drop the remaining dough by tablespoonfuls into the boiling water and poach the dumplings for 45 seconds. As soon as they are done, use a slotted spoon to transfers to a bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and toss to coat.

To serve

1. Spread about 1/4 cup of the romesco on the center of the plate. Top with 5 dumplings. Crumble blue cheese on top, and garnish with basil.

This recipe appears in: Vegetarian