Spinach and Ricotta Malfatti with Puttanesca Sauce
Main dish
Veggy
Medium
60min
2 servings
ingredients
For the malfatti
- 250g fresh spinach
- 250g ricotta, well drained
- 1 medium egg
- 50g finely grated Parmesan
- 60-75g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- Freshly grated nutmeg- to taste
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper
For the Puttanesca sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 1 red chilli- finely diced
- ½ tsp Chilli flakes
- 2 tsp capers
- 40g black and green olives (Kalamata or Gaeta), pitted and diced
- 1 tbsp Cirio tomato purée
- 1 x 350g jar Cirio Passata Rustica
- Small handful parsley, chopped
For the Béchamel
- 1 litre whole milk
- 60 g butter
- 60 g flour
- A pinch of nutmeg
- Salt & Pepper
Preparation
Light and creamy Tuscan dumplings with a punchy tomato sauce. Cirio Passata rustica makes a speedy, smooth tomato sauce packed with flavour- great for weeknight dinner.
“Malfatti” literally translates as “badly made” the dumplings can be rustic and irregular.
Step 1- Prepare the spinach
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the spinach for 1–2 minutes until wilted, then drain thoroughly.
- Once cool enough to handle, transfer the spinach to a tea towel and squeeze out as much water as possible — this is essential for light malfatti.
Step 2: Make the Malfatti
- combine the spinach, ricotta, egg, Parmesan, nutmeg, lemon zest, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor.
- Blitz to a fine paste.
- Stir in the flour gradually, until you have a soft mixture that just holds together. The texture should be light and slightly sticky.
- Set aside to chill whilst preparing the sauce
Step 3: Make the puttanesca sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a wide sauté pan.
- Add the garlic and anchovies, cook gently until the anchovies dissolve
- Stir in the capers, olives, chillis and tomato purée
- Cook for 1 minute, then add the Passata rustica- fill the jar half full with water, shake and add the extra tomato water to the pan. Simmer for 12-15 minutes until thickened.
- Adjust seasoning to taste
Step 4: Cook the malfatti
- Lower the heat so the sauce is gently bubbling
- Roll the malfatti dough into rough walnut-sized dumplings either by hand or using two spoons to shape them.
- Nestle the dumplings directly into the sauce in a single layer
- Cover with a lid and cook gently for 12–15 minutes without stirring
- Shake the pan occasionally to make sure they don’t stick
- The dumplings are ready when puffed slightly and firm to the touch
- If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of water.
- Finish with extra Parmesan, chopped parsley, a drizzle of olive oil and some cracked black pepper.
To finish
- Parmesan or pecorino
- Extra olive oil
Serving suggestion :
- Rustic Italian Bread to mop up the sauce
- Simple, green salad
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Medium 
60min 