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These spinach and ricotta dumplings bring Northern Italy straight to your table, paired with a simple tomato sauce that makes the soft malfatti shine. In Italian, "malfatti" literally means "badly made," showcasing how these misshapen, homestyle dumplings celebrate cooking without perfection.
I stumbled upon malfatti during a trip around Tuscany when a grandmother showed me her way of making these soft dumplings. I loved how she just threw stuff together without bothering with exact amounts, and that's the laid-back cooking style I try to follow now.
What You'll Need
- Ricotta cheese: Pick one that's firm and crumbly, not soft and runny, so your dumplings hold together
- Baby spinach: Gives a soft bite and light flavor that works beautifully with the creamy cheese
- Grated Parmesan: Adds rich flavor and just enough salt to make everything pop
- Fresh basil: Brings that summery smell to both sauce and dumplings
- Regular flour: Keeps your dumplings together without making them tough
- Crushed tomatoes: Form the backbone of your simple, tasty sauce
- Olive oil: Carries flavor through both the sauce and dumplings
- Garlic and onion: Build the flavor base for everything in this dish
- Eggs: Help bind your dumplings so they don't fall apart when cooking
How To Make It
- Start the Sauce:
- Cook garlic and onion in olive oil until they're soft and smell good, about 3 minutes. Throw in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, basil stem, a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper. Let it bubble gently for 20 minutes, giving it a stir now and then until it's thick and smooth.
- Get the Spinach Ready:
- Sprinkle salt on your fresh spinach in a strainer and leave it for 20 minutes. Wrap the spinach in a clean towel and squeeze hard to get all the water out. Chop it up roughly.
- Cook the Flavor Base:
- Warm some olive oil in a pan. Throw in garlic and shallot, cooking until see-through. Add your squeezed spinach and cook until it shrinks down. Put it all in a big bowl to cool off.
- Mix the Dumpling Stuff:
- Add ricotta, basil, eggs, Parmesan, flour, salt, and pepper to your cooled spinach. Mix it all up until it's a bit sticky but can still keep its shape.
- Form Your Dumplings:
- Take about 1½ tablespoons of the mix and shape it between two spoons into little football shapes. Put each one on a paper-lined tray.
- Boil the Dumplings:
- Get some water boiling and cook 6 dumplings at a time for 2 minutes, until they pop up to the surface. Drain them on some paper towels.
- Finish in the Oven:
- Spread your sauce in a baking dish, arrange the dumplings on top, drizzle with good olive oil, and bake at 180°C/350°F for 15 minutes.
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What I love most about this dish is how the soft, fluffy dumplings play against the chunky, rich tomato sauce. The first time I made this for my friend Marco from Italy, he took a bite, closed his eyes and said it tasted just like his nonna's cooking. There's no better praise for Italian food than that.
Fixing Too-Wet Ricotta
Got soggy ricotta? Put it in a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a bowl. Cover with plastic and leave in the fridge overnight so the water drips out. You can also press it gently with paper towels to soak up moisture. Getting your ricotta dry enough really matters - if it's too wet, your dumplings will fall apart when you try to cook them.
Prep Ahead Tips
These dumplings work great for planning ahead. You can fix the dumplings through the boiling step, let them cool down completely, and keep them in the fridge for a day. The sauce stays good in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container. When you want to eat, just put everything in your baking dish and cook a bit longer, about 5-7 extra minutes, to heat it all through.
What To Serve With It
Unlike most Italian pasta dishes, you don't need bread or other starches with malfatti. Try a simple rocket salad with lemon juice and olive oil instead. For special dinners, start with some marinated veggies, olives, and thin prosciutto slices. A crisp, tangy white wine like Pinot Grigio cuts through the creaminess just right.
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These dumplings really show how basic ingredients and simple methods can create something truly amazing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → What's the best type of ricotta for malfatti?
Go for a firmer, less wet ricotta. If the ricotta you have is too watery, make sure to drain it with cheesecloth overnight in the fridge. This helps get the right texture for dumplings that won’t fall apart as they cook.
- → Can I make malfatti early?
For sure! You can shape the dumplings and keep them chilled on parchment a day in advance. Alternatively, cook them ahead, keep the dumplings and sauce separate, and combine when reheating in the oven until warm and golden.
- → Why do my malfatti break during poaching?
If yours keep breaking, your mixture might be too moist. Make sure the ricotta and spinach are both super well-drained. To prepare spinach, salt it, let it wilt for a bit, then squeeze it dry using a towel. If necessary, add a bit more flour to tighten the mixture.
- → Can malfatti be frozen?
Definitely! After poaching the dumplings, lay them flat on a tray and freeze until hard. Then, move them into freezer-safe containers. Thaw in the fridge when you’re ready to eat and bake them with sauce as usual. The tomato sauce also freezes well, stored separately.
- → What goes with malfatti?
These hearty dumplings are like gnocchi—they’re best enjoyed as the focus of the plate. A light green salad pairs perfectly, though a slice of crusty Italian bread is a great choice too for soaking up all that tasty sauce.
- → Can I swap spinach for something else?
For sure! Instead of spinach, you could use kale, Swiss chard, or even nettles if they’re in season. Just like with spinach, cook and drain them thoroughly to avoid a watery dumpling mixture.