4 lb spinach
1 salt
2 cup ricotta
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 pepper
1 freshly grated nutmeg
1 flour
6 tbsp butter, melted
Directions
Wash the spinach and remove the stems. In a large pan with the
lid on, steam the leaves with a little salt in the water that clings
to them, turning them over, until they crumple. Strain and squeeze
every bit of water out with your hands: this is all-important and is
the secret of success (otherwise the dumplings would fall apart).
Finely chop the leaves
Mash the ricotta and stir in the eggs, half the parmesan, salt,
pepper, nutmeg and spinach. Work very well, shape into balls the
size of a walnut and roll in flour.
Fill a large saucepan halfway with water, bring to the boil and
very carefully drop in the dumplings. Keep the water barely simmering
until the rise to the surface - they do so very quickly.
Lift them out very carefully with a slotted spoon and serve very
hot with melted butter and the remaining parmesan.
Servings: 1 servings
Malfatti Cheese & Spinach Dumplings Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Cheese; Spinach; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Academics have tracked the existence of recipes back into antiquity, at least as far back as the early Egyptians, and maybe even further. However, mostly, these ancient cook books were just very basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered, according to food historians is a collection of clay tablets in Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel `blissful`. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times there are two recipe books dating from the 1300s ; a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, they have no connection with the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but rather recipes for the types of meals on the menues of the nobility of the period. Over the next few centuries, the wealthy families of the West competed to offer the best banquets, and consequentially chefs and their recipe collections could command a high salary. Even so, it was during the 1800s the formal cooking and recipe books rose to prominence. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, verifying, and publishing the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. By the arrival of the twentieth century, cooking books were in great demand, due to better eduction, leisure time and having more money to spend. The introduction of television brought us TV cookery programs and the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Malfatti Cheese & Spinach Dumplings recipe.
