pasta - Gluten Free Cheese and Spinach Gnocchi

By tinathorn

Ingredients

• 3 oz. frozen spinach
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 large egg
• 15 to 16 ounces 4% fat gluten free cottage cheese* (NOT Organic Valley) (or use ricotta cheese (Organic Valley or homemade)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Kraft shaker)
• 3/4 cup potato starch
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from glutenfreerecipebox.com

Preparation

Step 1

Add spinach and water to a heat-proof bowl and microwave for 1 minute on high. Drain and squeeze as much water from the spinach as possible by pressing down with the back of a spoon. Transfer spinach to a tea towel and squeeze out all excess water (or use a rice, if you have one); and set it aside.
Add the egg to a large bowl and whisk thoroughly.
If you are using cottage cheese, puree it in a food processor or blender to break down the curds. Add cottage or ricotta and Parmesan and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato starch, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and nutmeg.
Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the cheese mixture and stir. Once the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl, dust it with a little more flour and combine. You should have about 1/2 cup of flour remaining. You will use this for dusting the surface and the dough.
Dust a rolling surface (preferably a silicon mat) with some of the remaining flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface, and slowly fold more flour into the dough. Be sure to keep your hands dusted with flour. Once the dough is no longer sticky and easy to mold, stop adding flour. You want to avoid it being dry.
Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and roll one into a rope, 12 to 14 inches long and 3/4-inch wide. Cut the rope into 3/4-inch wide pieces and set aside.
Hold a fork with the tongs pointing away from you. Lay one of the pieces of dough on the tongs with the cut sides on the left and right sides. Press the dough onto the tongs of the fork so that it covers all of the tongs. You want about 1/4-inch to be above the tongs. Using that 1/4-inch of dough, push it up, away from the fork, to begin rolling the dough. Then gently grab the sides of the dough and continue to roll it off of the fork. You will see the grooves the tong made which creates a nice design. Transfer rolled pieces of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue rolling ropes and gnocchi with the remaining pieces of dough. At this point you may freeze the gnocchi while on the baking sheet and then transfer to individual resealable storage bags, or store them directly in the refrigerator to boil within 24 hours.
To Cook the Gnocchi: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add non-frozen gnocchi and cook at a low boil for about 9 minutes. Drain using a colander and serve immediately topped with your favorite sauce, Authentic Spaghetti Sauce or the sauce used in my Gourmet Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes.
Tips

*The following brands of 4% cottage cheese shows up as gluten free in the Fooducate app: Friendship, Friendship Fit to Go Small Curd, Wegmans, Kemps, Crystaland Darigold Small and Large Curd. Daisy makes a gluten free 2% fat cottage cheese, if you prefer lower fat.