In Italian, malfatti translates to “bad made.” Unlike gnocchi, their dumpling cousin, malfatti are more “roughly” made: hand-rolled, then crudely cut without much thought to uniformity or perfection. But that’s precisely what makes them so lovely – their provincial form and handmade taste. Because they’re made mostly with ricotta and contain very little flour, the result are light and airy pillows, a feat not so easily achieved in gnocchi making. In fact, if you’ve ever made gnocchi you’ll find that more times than not they turn out more dense than you’d like, and you have to concentrate fiercely on the task at hand, making sure to not overwork the dough. Malfatti, on the other hand, are easy to make and hard to ruin.

1 ½ C. Ricotta cheese
2 C. packed fresh spinach
1 C. Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs or panko
2 eggs, beaten
¼ C. Parmesan cheese
¼ C. minced green onions
1 T. basil, finely chopped
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
½ tsp. salt
Flour
4 T. butter
Approximately 10 sage leaves

In a medium covered saucepan, steam spinach in 2 T. water until done, approximately 1 minute. Drain spinach and squeeze out extra liquid until very dry. Combine spinach with all ingredients, except flour and sage. Refrigerate 1 hour. Bring a large pot half full of salted water to a simmer. Drop spinach cheese mixture by T. into flour and roll each lightly into long logs. Cut into 1 ½- inch dumplings. Drop dumplings into the gently simmering water. When they rise to the top, remove with a slotted spoon, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. In a saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Once butter begins to brown, add sage and cook until leaves are crisp (approximately 1 to 2 minutes.. Spoon brown butter over malfatti and top with the crisp sage leaves. If preferred, top with more Parmesan cheese.