Ravioli Gnudi are ravioli without the wrapper. Just the filling is used. Gnudi is Italian for nude. These are also called malfatti which is Italian for ‘badly made’ and may be a reference to filling that falls out of the ravioli wrapper when cooked.
The Gnudi are made by combining spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, nutmeg and a little bit of flour to hold them together. The mixture is refrigerated and them formed into ‘dumplings’ and refrigerated again for a short time. They are a breeze to cook, as easy as cooking fresh pasta. But they are fragile and need to be handled carefully. I was pretty certain they would fall apart when I cooked them. Or disintegrate. The secret is to cook them at a very slow simmer, not a hard boil, and drain them as soon as they rise to the top.
The hardest part of making them is forming them. Their very soft and fussy. And refuse to keep their shape. Don’t even bother trying to make them all uniform. It’s a nearly impossible task. And a messy one. Noone will notice once you douse them with sauce. Just call them rustic.
Being the curious creature I am I also pan fried some in a mix of olive oil and butter. I made this batch a little bigger in size. They browned up nicely and were denser in texture. But I prefer the boiling method for taste and ease. All this did was make an even bigger mess in my kitchen.
I’ve seen these compared to gnochhi but if anything their the complete opposite. Gnocchi are dense and heavy. At least the ones I’ve had. These are light and fluffy like clouds. Little pillows that melt in your mouth. And with the flavors of the creamy sage and walnut sauce completely delicious.
The sauce can be made three different ways: with sage and without walnuts, with walnuts and without sage or with both walnuts and sage. A brown butter and sage sauce would be equally good. Or even a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan. Or butter and Parmesan. And of course with a traditional tomato sauce if that’s what you prefer.
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What a great idea! I've never even heard of this, and I love it. I'll have to try this on a rainy sunday 🙂
"Pssst! Your ravioli ain't got no clothes on!"Love these little fellas. I fire roasted mine on the grill: <a href="http://www.nibblemethis.com/2010/05/live-fire-roasted-naked-ravioli.htmlhttp://www.nibblemethis.com/2010/05/live-fire-roa… />I was afraid boiling them would turn them into gnudi soup 🙂
Very adventurous…I'm sure they were delicious! The messiest things usually are 🙂
I'm so glad to see you make some gnudi – I've been wanting to make some for a while but it looked a little tricky! This looks simple, however!Yum =)Jax x
Looks delicious…I'm loving the sauce
Another amazing recipe. I ll definitely try this
I've never heard of gnudi, but they sound delicious — especially with this sauce!
Hi Reeni, this is very interesting. I have the exact same recipe in my 30-year old Romagnoli's Table cookbook. But she calls it ricott-spinach gnocchi. I've never made it because ricotta doesn't agree with me, but I have made potato gnocchi, and they are not dense and heavy when made right.
Wow! I have never heard of this before ~ naked ravioli?! YUM!
Such an interesting sauce! This definitely looks yummy 🙂
Yum! I've never made gnudi, but these look so, so good. I want some right now. I'll have to give it a shot!
OMG! This looks fabulous. Wow!
This looks so delicious! Love the sauce…can't wait to try it. What fun dishes, too.
You asked me to indulge…ok..I am ready 😀
Ooops, I scrolled a little too far down and commented on the zucchini fritters in regard to this… so sorry to repeat myself but I said that this looks delicious and I absolutely love that bowl!
I'm so curious. I want to try these but know I'll make a huge mess of them.
oh wow, this looks delicious! I love the addition of walnuts!
WOW, that looks really good and I love the indulge…dish!!anne http://www.anniebakes.net
I know this is my second comment, but I could not get your email link to work:( When you have a moment can you stop by our site, we left a little something for you:) http://dld.bz/mBpk
beautiful dish, I love the walnut sauce, I'm drooling..lol thanks for introducing gnudi to me, I bet if was fab…and I love the dish..indulge awesome!sweetlife
I've never heard of ravioli gnudi but they look so good! I would be very frustrated trying to form them though. :PThank you for sharing!PS: my word verification is "pesto" and it's in green. Which makes me think ravioli gnudi would be fabulous with basil pesto. 😉
omg this looks freaking amazing. stop making me drool over my lap top!
I just love the sound of that walnut sauce, it sounds divine.Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead.*kisses* HH
Yum. This is the first time I have heard ANYTHING about gnudi. These sound absolutely fantastic.
I can see where it would be a mess but you made it look SO pretty! It sounds wonderful. And that sauce? Out of this world! Thanks!
i love walnut sauce! haven't made that since it last snowed. ha ha. very creative dish girl! ^5!
Wow Really a droll wrothy recipe,luks delicious…
Have you ever made a discovery, investigated it, made it, wrote about it and got ready to post thinking you were posting something a lot of people had never heard of? Well, I'm raising my hand here, beacuse I spent the last week making gnudi!Funny! And I got my idea from Top Chef. Must have missed Giada!
Somehow you always seem to know exactly what I'm craving! I've seen ravioli gnudi before, but I've never tried it myself. Your version looks so good!
Gnudies definitely are fussy! I made them last summer with kale from the garden (instead of the spinach). I think I didn't chop it fine enough… will try again this summer. Thanks for the inspiration!
These actually remind me a lot of ricotta gnocchi, which to me are more airy! Oh how I love this dish! That walnut sauce has me drooling.
Awesome recipe! I had never heard of this yummy naked ravioli!!I love your pasta plate, too … and of course, the pictures are very beautiful…It is lunch time here… I am nearly drooling in front of my screen!
I would for sure indulge eating your these fabulous ravioli.The whole dish is very impressive, lovely click too.Wishing you a great weekend ♥
Loving your dish and the gnudi–they look amazing and with the sage…Yum! 😉
I learned something new today! Reeni, these nude ravioli look mouthwatering, and the walnut sauce sounds truly fabulous!
thank you….I have made malfati before but I didn't have a sauce to go along with it…this one sounds great …I love the quotes on your blog….greetings from Belgrade
Because I'm always in favor of filling, "ravioli gnudi" are perfect! I love them but I never tasted them ravioli with walnut sauce. They look very appetizing. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, bye
This looks so delicious. I love any type of Italian. So beautiful.
Oh my! I'm drooling right now… I love anything about pasta….yum!
I do absolutely love these and never post because they're always – a wee bit not pretty – but man – yours are delicious and pretty!
I have never heard of gnudi before so this post was both informative and appetite whetting. I would love to dip my fork into a bowl of these beauties!
This is something new to me but it looks really yummy. The sauce sounds wonderful!
Oh.My.Goodness. Those looks fabulous! I had no idea what Gnudi was but I'm so thankful you've introduced it to me! Hugs and headbutts to the handsome Moon!
OMG, love the induldge plate and this looks smashing.
This is an amazing dish! It looks incredible. I have never tried these, but this is one of those dishes that I know I would love:) Cannot wait to taste.
Those look very tempting. I don't usually have much patience so not sure how well I would do trying to make something like that. I do love that serving bowl.
Wow with these specials Ravoli – I didn’t know, yet 😉 Fluffy, ricotta urgently to taste the recipe- adorable!!Cheers,Gera
Technically good gnocchi shouldn't be dense and heavy. The best ones I've had have been almost as light as clouds 🙂 Your gnudi looks great though. I actually prefer the rustic look!
I have never heard of these and i love italian cooking! Fabulous, can't wait to give these a go. Thanks for this post!
Thanks for your entry! These look wonderful, never heard of such a thing!
I have never heard of Gnudi before but these sound heavenly. The walnut sauce by itself sounds incredible as well! I'm bookmarking this recipe!
Oh wow, this ravioli looks wonderful!!
i've been meaning to make these, they are delicious 🙂 and yours look great!!
I've never heard of Gnudi…WOW they look good..and that sauce, YUM!
That is a very new concept for me. Never heard of it before, but they look mouth watering, would love to try it out sometime. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Very impressive!! I would love nothing more than to pop a few of these right into my mouth right now:-) That sauce looks pretty heavenly too!
wow I am drooling over these fabulous pictures! wowowowow!!!!! all fabulous and delish looking want to eat them!
I've just learned something new about Italian cuisine! I love these, since they sound so much easier than making homemade pasta and then making filled ravioli! Grazie, hope you're doing well, Roz
Oh how I love this! And that serving bowl:) Beautiful dish…