Gnudi aka Malfatti Recipe•Italian Dumplings without Pasta | Club Foody (2024)

FAQs

What is gnudi made of? ›

Gnudi (Italian: [ˈɲuːdi]), also called malfatti, are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese and semolina instead of potato flour. The result is often a lighter, "pillowy" dish, unlike the often denser, chewier gnocchi.

Malfatti literally means “poorly made” in Italian, and while the shape may be irregular, there's nothing poor about the taste. Tender and savory dumplings, they are like a more flavorful gnocchi, with delicious rustic charm.

Gnocchi (singular gnocco) are Italian dumplings made with flour, eggs, and potatoes. Gnocchi can be served in tomato sauce, tossed with pesto, or sautéed with butter and herbs.

Gnocchi can also be made with ricotta instead of potato, which are sometimes called gnudi (roughly translatable to "naked" in Italian). Gnudi generally have a bit less flour in them, making them similar in texture and flavor to the ricotta filling of ravioli, but without the pasta wrapper.

Too much moisture can make the delicate gnudi fall apart, so use a good quality whole-milk ricotta and remove as much moisture as possible.

Gnocchi have a starchy base, such as potato or flour, while gnudi are, at their simplest, little more than featherlight clouds of fluffy fresh ricotta, often dressed with nothing fancier than melted butter.

Malfatti are cooked much like gnocchi in boiling water. Like gnocchi, the most common way serve them is also just like that – simply drained, and topped with the sauce. Sometimes however you see baked versions, where the Malfatti is placed in the sauce and finished in the oven and is my preferred way of making them.

Once gnudi have formed a skin, they can be frozen.

The word 'malfatti' in Italian literally translates to 'badly made' which is crazy really because these gorgeous little dumplings from Brescia in Lombardia are a thing of beauty being much more colourful and lighter than the traditional gnocchi you may be more familiar with.

The most popular type of gnocchi is potato gnocchi. The dough is made with potatoes that have been cooked and then riced, along with wheat flour, salt and water. Some gnocchi recipes also contain egg. Different varieties of gnocchi use different ingredients, such as ricotta cheese, cornmeal, semolina, spinach and more.

What is a small Italian dumpling called? ›

Gnocchi (pronounced NYO-kee) are fluffy, Italian-style dumplings made of potatoes and flour. While they originated in Northern Italy, where potatoes grow well in the cooler climate, varieties of gnocchi are found in almost every region of the country.

“Dumpling” in Italian can translate as gnocco or as raviolo. Gnocchi are a type of naked dumpling, made of dough or of a mixture of different ingredients (potatoes with flour and sometimes eggs, ricotta with herbs and flour etc.).

Shower them in flour before they're refrigerated, generously dust the baking sheet with flour, and coat the tops of the dumplings with more flour before boiling them. This forms a protective layer around each one, making it easier to drop them into the boiling water and ensure they keep their shape.

Gnudi is a nice Italian meal that is very similar to Gnocchi. It is roughly translated to mean “naked” in Italian. Gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese and spinach instead of potato. They are often light, tender and creamy.

Traditionally these would be served with some browned sage butter, similar to gnocchi. I personally find them absolutely delicious when served alongside a very simple tomato Pomodoro sauce. It's just like eating ravioli without all of the dough and it is so good.

The “g” is silent in both words; thus, gnocchi is pronounced “nyoh-kee,” while gnudi is pronounced “nyoo-dee” or simply “noo-dee.”

While both ricotta gnocchi and gnudi are dumplings made with ricotta cheese, gnudi are made with a minimal amount of flour. They're larger and fluffier than ricotta gnocchi.