Recipes

Spinach and Cheese Breadcrumb Dumplings (Strangolapreti)

  • Serves

    serves 3 to 4

  • Time

    1 hour

Strangolapreti
MATT TAYLOR-GROSS

By Jonathon Sawyer


Published on March 24, 2016

Strangolapreti is a Trentan party food, a luxurious, cheesy dish made with frugal ingredients. Jonathon Sawyer of Cleveland's Trentina days day-old bread, blanched spinach, ricotta, and egg to make a dumpling filled with ooey-gooey cheese.

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
  • 8 oz. baby spinach
  • 1 12 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more to garnish
  • 12 cup ricotta cheese
  • 14 cup olive oil
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • All-purpose flour, for dusting
  • 6 oz. taleggio cheese
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 12 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 12 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spinach and cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain spinach, then plunge into a bowl of ice water. Drain spinach, squeezing out any water, and finely chop.

Step 2

In a large bowl, mix the spinach with the 1 teaspoon of salt, the bread crumbs, parmesan, ricotta, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the egg until evenly combined. Divide the dough into 14 balls. Working with 1 ball of dough at a time, flatten the ball in the palm of your hand. Add 2 teaspoons of taleggio and wrap the dough around the cheese. Dust each ball with flour and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze dough for 45 minutes.

Step 3

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in 2 batches, add the dumplings to the water and cook until they float, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to a plate. Save 1⁄3 cup pasta water.

Step 4

Meanwhile, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high. Add dumplings and cook, turning as needed, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the butter and sage and cook, basting the dumplings, 2 minutes longer. Transfer the dumplings to a serving platter and add the reserved pasta water and the vinegar to the skillet. Bring it to a boil and reduce the sauce by half, about 8 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the dumplings and garnish with more parmesan.
strangolapreti
Spinach and Cheese Breadcrumb Dumplings (Strangolapreti)

Spinach and Cheese Breadcrumb Dumplings (Strangolapreti)

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