Salted spinach Strangolapreti filled with ricotta

Ingredients for 4 people

For the spinach mixture
1 kg fresh spinach leaves
100g stale bread cut into cubes
1 egg
60g lukewarm milk
40g wheat flour
40g grated Trentingrana
15g onions, finely cut and fried
1 garlic clove
Salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste

For the ricotta filling
150g fresh ricotta cheese
50g grated Trentingrana
20g extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste

For serving
100g good quality butter
40g toasted hazelnuts

Method

Put the oil and garlic into a pan over a high heat and add the spinach, cooking it for a short time until the spinach has wilted. Remove from the heat, drain off the excess cooking liquid and cool the pan down rapidly in order to maintain the vibrant green colour of the spinach before finely chopping it.

Meanwhile, soften the bread in milk and leave it to rest at room temperature for one hour. Add the eggs, seasoning, flour, the finely chopped spinach and the grated Trentingrana. Mix well but quickly and briefly to obtain a soft and fluffy mixture. Leave the mixture to rest in the fridge for 3 hours.

Prepare the filling by gently mixing together the ricotta cheese with the extra virgin olive oil and the grated Trentingrana. Season to taste with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

On a clean surface and with the help of a rolling pin, spread the spinach mixture out to form a rectangle that is about half a centimetre thick. Using a piping bag, pipe a 3cm wide strip of the ricotta filling along the long side of the rectangle. Roll the spinach mixture around the filling, closing and sealing the roll using a beaten egg.
Cut out large gnocchi pieces roughly 5cm in length and then cook these for 4 minutes in boiling water.
Serve dressed with an emulsion of melted butter and sage leaves, with a drop of cooking water to loosen the sauce. Garnish with caramelised butter and toasted hazelnuts.