Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Malfatti (Italian spinach ricotta dumplings) Recipe
Malfatti means “badly fashioned” in Italian. These rustic spinach ricotta gnocchi-like dumplings might look a bit wonky, however they style unimaginable – the very definition of the superbly imperfect!
I like being confirmed fallacious on the subject of meals.
As I dubiously fished the completely unimpressive-looking, slippery dumplings from the poaching liquid and plonked them in tomato sauce to pop into the oven, I used to be mentally getting ready for what I might do to avoid wasting the dish if it got here out as bland as I used to be anticipating. Bury in cheese and stick it again within the oven, I believed to myself. Cheese’ll save something!
How very fallacious I used to be about Malfatti! This is without doubt one of the most scrumptious issues I’ve made all 12 months. (Sure, sure, I do know I’ve stated that a number of different recipes I’ve shared this 12 months, however this time*, I actually imply it!!) These plump little gnocchi-like balls are delightedly savoury, ultra-soft and extremely juicy on the within. They’re usually paired with a tomato-based Napoli Sauce like right here, and completed with a bathe of parmesan.
Like all addictively tasty issues that are available in bite-size packages, they’re dangerously tough to cease popping them in your mouth when you begin. One, two, three, 5, ten …
* I actually meant it the opposite occasions I declared this as nicely. There may be room in my life for multiple “most scrumptious factor I’ve made all 12 months”. I’ve a giant urge for food!!
Malfatti are conventional Italian dumplings made out of spinach and ricotta. They’re sure along with a bit of flour and egg, and flavoured with parmesan and basil.
Which means “badly fashioned”, the identify malfatti is an affectionate jibe at their tough and rustic appears. They’re also called gnudi in different components of Italy, which implies “bare” – a reference to their look like pasta-less ravioli.
They’re usually served with a tomato-based Napoli sauce, although you additionally see it with different sauces equivalent to brown butter and sage.
Right here’s an up shut and private take a look at the within of Malfatti. Appears good, eh? 🙂
Malfatti are cooked very like gnocchi in boiling water. Like gnocchi, the most typical approach serve them can be similar to that – merely drained, and topped with the sauce.
Generally nevertheless you see baked variations, the place the Malfatti is positioned within the sauce and completed within the oven and is my most popular approach of creating them. Baking them “units” the floor of the dumplings in order that they don’t appear soggy (they’re fairly moist and slippery straight out of the boiling water). Plus, you get the good thing about a bit of browning on the perimeters of the Napoli Sauce which has a change to meld with the dumplings.
I’d be enthusiastic about opinions on this (even daring?!) assertion from any Italians studying this!
Right here’s what that you must make the dumplings.
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Ricotta (dry and crumbly = good!) – The important thing ingredient right here! Whereas ordinarily ricotta-based recipes will name for the freshest, softest and creamiest ricotta you’ll find, for Malfatti, we’re after drier ricotta so the combination is agency sufficient to form into dumplings.
Rule of thumb – In case you can unfold the ricotta like butter, it’s too moist and must be drained to take away extra water (simply set over a colander or wrap in tea towels, see recipe notes). In case you can nearly crumble it along with your palms, it’s excellent!
Emergency repair: In case you resolve to proceed anyway with a ricotta that you just suspect is simply too moist and discover the combination is so free you possibly can’t type dumplings, simply add the minimal quantity of flour required to thicken the combination (I did);
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Garlic and eschalot (US: Shallots) – For flavour and sweetness. In case you don’t have eschalots, use 1/2 a pink onion as a substitute. (PS. Eschalots are the little tear-drop formed alliums typically labelled as “French Onions” right here in Australia);
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Parmesan – A lot of the seasoning (flavouring and salt) for Malfatti. It additionally helps to agency up the combination;
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Flour – Simply 1/2 a cup, far lower than most dumplings. Required to bind the combination;
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Egg – The universe’s pure meals glue, that is what holds the dumplings collectively! We use one entire egg in addition to one egg yolk as a result of one egg alone is just not fairly sufficient to make the Malfatti maintain collectively. Bonus: An additional yolk makes them simply that little bit richer and scrumptious!
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Basil – Only a handful, for its pretty recent flavour. In case you don’t have recent basil, simply depart it out reasonably than substitute with dried basil (dried basil actually has no flavour)
Probably the most well-liked sauces for Malfatti is a traditional Italian tomato sauce known as a Napoli Sauce (after the town of Naples, capital of the area the place tomatoes and basil are staple flavours). Right here’s what you want:
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Onion and garlic – Basic basis flavourings;
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Tomato paste – For a small increase in tomato depth, and to thicken the sauce barely (the sauce for Malfatti is often thick and chunky, reasonably than free and runny);
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Basil – Please faux the basil sprig pictured right here has been picked! 😂 The leaves are used within the dumplings, whereas we use pop the stem into the sauce to provide it a small trace of recent basil flavour.
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Crushed or diced tomato – As at all times, the higher the standard, the higher the sauce;
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Sugar – 1/2 a teaspoon, to melt the tartness of the sauce a contact. It’s a shortcut for this sauce, which we solely simmer for 20 minutes. When you have the time to simmer on a really, very low warmth for 1 hour or so to let the flavours actually develop and the sauce to sweeten naturally, be at liberty to skip it. 😇
The important thing factor right here is to NOT get too hung about about completely excellent dumpling shapes. Bear in mind, Malfatti means “badly fashioned”. Stick with the spirit of the identify, a licence for imperfection!
Half 1: Take away water from spinach
Firstly we have to take away the surplus water from the spinach in any other case it makes the Malfatti combination too free.
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Sweat spinach with salt to take away water – Sprinkle spinach with a bit of salt and depart for 20 minutes. The salt will draw some moisture out of the spinach, which makes it simpler to squeeze out the water;
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Wring out water – Put a handful of spinach on a clear tea towel. Collect up the the corners of the tea towel and twist it firmly to squeeze out the water;
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Roughly chop – Not too finely. We don’t need minced spinach dumplings!
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Sauté frivolously – Lastly, we sauté the garlic and eschalots, then add the spinach in and toss it via.
Lastly, cool the spinach earlier than stirring into the ricotta combination.
Half 2: Make the Malfatti dumplings
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Malfatti combination – As soon as the spinach is cool, add it into the bowl with the remaining Malfatti elements. Then gently combine till mixed;
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Kind dumplings (wonky or neat!) – Use two dessert spoons to type “soccer” formed dumplings. Bear in mind the identify and don’t get too hung up about excellent shapes!!
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Boil – The Malfatti are cooked in boiling water, similar to different dumplings. Deliver a pot of water to the boil and punctiliously decrease 4 to six dumplings in. Don’t crowd the pot, you don’t need the Malfatti bashing into one another;
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Cook dinner till they float (~2 minutes) – You’ll know precisely when the Malfatti are cooked as a result of they float to the floor! Don’t fear about whether or not they’re totally cooked via as a result of bear in mind we end them within the oven. 🙂
Use a slotted spoon to fish them out and place onto paper towels to empty.
Half 3: Making Napoli Sauce and baking the Malfatti
The sauce is so simple as a sauté, a stir and a simmer. Because the sauce takes 20 minutes, I usually begin the sauce whereas I’m sweating the spinach.
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Make the sauce – Nothing floor breaking right here! The standard sauté garlic and onion → add tomato → simmer 🙂 This sauce is barely simmered for 20 minutes, however lengthy sufficient for it to thicken and develop some flavour. In case you’ve received the time, add a bit of additional water and simmer it on tremendous low warmth for 1 hour. It will make the sauce much more scrumptious!
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Baking time! – Pour the sauce in a pan and high with Malfatti. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for simply quarter-hour, lengthy sufficient to simply give the floor of the Malfatti the faintest trace of gold blush. Extra importantly, it offers the Malfatti a lightweight crust, reasonably than being slippery and moist straight out of the boiling water;
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Baked Malfatti consequence – Within the picture above, you possibly can see how the Malfatti may be very frivolously browned in comparison with the picture in Step 2. The opposite advantage of baking is that you just get some tasty sauce caramelisation across the edges of the pan; and
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End with parmesan – Give the Malfatti a beneficiant dusting of parmesan and sprinkle of recent basil. Then dish it out!!
Initially, I used to be confused about easy methods to serve Malfatti. Over pasta? Over polenta?? Slop it up with bread??
Nope. Consider it like gnocchi. So similar to you do with gnocchi, serve your self a giant bowl of Malfatti similar to that.
There’s a good quantity of greens on this dish within the type of the spinach and tomato. However if you wish to add extra, add a giant leafy salad tossed with Italian Dressing, or a easy Balsamic Dressing.
I additionally wouldn’t flip down a aspect of garlic bread, regular or tacky. However hey, that’s simply me! 😂 – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1/2 onion , very finely diced
- 800g / 24 oz crushed tomato (or diced)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 basil stem (leaves kept for the Malfatti)
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 300g / 10oz baby spinach (~6 tightly packed cups, Note 4)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 1 eschallot (large), finely chopped (or 1/2 red onion)
- 500g / 1 lb ricotta (must be dry type, not wet and spreadable, Note 1)
- 1/4 cup (lightly packed) basil leaves, finely sliced (use stem for sauce)
- 1 egg (Note 2)
- 1 egg yolk (Note 2)
- 1 cup parmesan , finely grated
- 1/2 cup flour , plain / all-purpose
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan , finely grated
- Basil leaves , small (optional)
Instructions
- Saute garlic and onion: Heat oil in a small pot or large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes until onion is softened.
- Simmer sauce: Add remaining ingredients plus the stem of basil. Bring to a simmer, then reduce stove to low and cook, stirring every now and then, for 20 minutes. It should be fairly thick rather than a loose runny sauce.
- Drain ricotta, if needed: The ricotta should be the dry and fairly crumbly type rather than wet, soft and almost spreadable. If it's wet, see Note 1 for removing excess water (wet ricotta makes Malfatti hard to shape and cook!)
- Sweat spinach: Toss spinach with 1/2 tsp salt in large colander. Leave for 20 minutes. Roll up in tea towel and squeeze tightly to remove excess liquid. Roughly chop.
- Sauté garlic, eschalot and spinach: Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and eschalot, cook for 1 minute until translucent. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Transfer to large bowl, allow to cool.
- Malfatti mixture: Add ricotta and all remaining Malfatti ingredients into the bowl. Mix well to combine. It should be too wet to roll with hands without sticking, but still firm enough to shape into dumplings.
- Form dumplings: Using 2 dessert spoons, scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture then shape into a football (quenelle) using the two spoons. Place on a paper-lined tray. You should get about 24-30.
- Boil dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then carefully put 6 dumplings in. Cook for 2 minutes, they should float to the surface. Remove with slotted spoon on to paper towel lined tray. Repeat for remaining Malfatti.
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
- Assemble: Pour Napoli Sauce into a baking dish, then top with Malfatti. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
- Bake 15 minutes or until the Malfatti has a faint blush of gold on the surface (Note 3).
- Serve! Sprinkle baked Malfatti with parmesan and basil leaves (tear large leaves). Spoon into bowls and served as-is. No starchy side is required, think of these as like gnocchi. Just add a leafy green salad with Italian Dressing or Balsamic Dressing!
Notes
1. Ricotta – The type that comes in vacuum-sealed 1kg baskets is best eg. Casa del Formaggio, Paesanella or from the deli counter at Coles and Woolworths (Australia), or good delis. Do not use Perfect Italiano or brands in small sealed tubs, these are not good enough quality for our purpose. Do not use or any “spreadable” or “smooth” ricotta, they are too loose and wet.
We need the drier type of ricotta here, the type you can virtually crumble with your hands. If the ricotta is wet and spreadable, it will be too wet and the dumplings will be too hard to shape. In this case, reach excess water. Either bundle in tea towels and set in colander overnight to drain (best for very wet ricotta), or roll up and squeeze lightly (do this a few times).
2. Egg yolk – We need a bit of extra egg to hold the dumplings together, I found that 1 whole egg was not quite enough, but 2 whole eggs made the mixture too loose. Add the leftover egg white in your scrambled eggs tomorrow morning!
3. Baking is to get a light crust on the otherwise slippery surface of dumpling. Be careful not to overcook as they will dry out.
4. Spinach – Sub with about 200g/7oz frozen spinach, thawed then squeeze out extra water very well.
5. Make ahead / storage – Malfatti bake can be assembled to the point prior to baking, ie. dumplings sitting in the tomato sauce. It can then refrigerated and baked when ready to serve. Cooked Malfatti (ie. after baking) will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Best reheated in the microwave.
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.
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