Dunderi... by Gennaro Contaldo

A previous post, (6/6/12 http://andyeatsinfrance.blogspot.com/2012/06/everybody-who-produces-food-produces.html) saw me talking about a lovely quote from the mini-series "Two Greedy Italians" which aired on the BBC a few years ago now. Its two series (the word British TV uses for what we know as "seasons,") consisting of 4 episodes each, follow the exploits of two Italian chefs who have lived as expats in the UK... only to return to their motherland as seasoned vets of the cooking game- ready to eat and share their observations with the world. Sounds like a tried and true premise for cooking shows, right? It is. But these two men have so much character and poise that their true and honest selves radiate from screen immediately, sharing parts of their Italian culinary souls with their international foodie audience.

When you have a moment (or a few hours) to spare, this show is not to be missed. And if you have even more time, I highly recommend their recipes. The following gem is right out of their first episode. It took us about 35-40 minutes in all to prepare, and was a quick and hearty meal. So full of flavor, but still concise enough to prepare during the mid-week rush.

I always hesitate when watching cooking shows... "Should I try to replicate their recipes?" "Will they actually be that good?" "What if they're making it look easy, but it's actually not?"...
These are all valid questions I think, and ones I've asked myself many times before. Nevertheless, I usually take the plunge anyway.
            It is better to have cooked and lost, than never to have cooked at all! Right?


But, with Gennaro and Antonio's recipes, we actually didn't need to take a "plunge" per se... It's like trusting your very own Italian uncles implicitly.

                                                                                           ~ ~ ~

Without further ado...
You can find the recipe within this post or by clicking the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ricotta_dumplings_01916
Or you can also just watch the first episode. You'll find all the inspiration you need in those first few minutes.

The recipe on the site says it serves 4. I would say that is reasonable... but a more realistic statement would be to say that it best serves 3 very hungry (or greedy) people.
Also, one final note: Us Americans are not always used to following recipes that express the needed quantity of an ingredient in grams. If you have a scale, that would be the ideal tool with which to translate these weight measures. If not, the following conversions can work to give you a general idea:

For the flour: 125 g = 1 cup / 200 g = 1.6 cups / or 250 g = 2 cups
For the ricotta: 250 g = 1 cup

Ingredients

For the dumplings

• 200g/7oz  "00" or all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 225g/8oz ricotta
• 3 free-range egg yolks
• 30g/1oz parmesan, freshly grated
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled, cut into thick slices
• 1 chili, sliced
• 2 x 400g/14oz cans tinned plum tomatoes, each tomato chopped in half
• few basil leaves

Preparation method

1. Mix the flour, ricotta, egg yolks, parmesan, nutmeg and seasoning together in a large bowl to form a soft, moist dough.
2. Tip the mixture out onto a floured work surface and knead for 3-5 minutes. Roll the dough into a long, thin sausage shape, then cut into dumplings about 2cm/1in long.
3. Cook the dumplings for 3-4 minutes in a large saucepan of salted boiling water.
4. Meanwhile for the sauce, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic and chilli for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and add the plum tomatoes.
5. Return the pan to the heat, bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes.
6. Remove the dumplings from the pan with a slotted spoon and add them to the tomato sauce.
7. To serve, spoon the dumplings onto a serving plate and sprinkle over the basil leaves.

Simple but not simplistic, is how I would describe good old-fashioned home cooking. These gnocchi-like dumplings fit that description beautifully.

  

Let's be honest, a little wine while cooking serves as the best inspiration of all. 

`    

Soft and elastic seem to be the desired consistencies for the dough. Not too sticky, but still very malleable. 

     

It's time to shape and cut. Look at him (my great, cooking partner-in-crime) go! 

We made them about 3/4" thick. 

Once the dunderi are ready and floured, prepare the quick sauce. Above, hot oil and garlic are ready to welcome the canned tomatoes into the saucepan. Gennaro is right; this is a quick and tasty way to make a sauce on-the-go. The searing oil will cook the tomato chunks and sauce quickly and evenly. 

We had a big pot of water on the burner simultaneously, and once the water reached a boil, the dumplings were added. True enough, after 3 minutes, the dumplings began to swiftly rise to the top. One by one! The ricotta and egg cook ever so quickly. 

After the tomatoes have absorbed the oil/garlic, add the boiled dunderi and basil. The chubby dumplings will absorb some of the tomato flavor too. Stir just enough, until the basil is incorporated into the sauce.

And there you have it. Prontissimo!!!

Finish off with more (a lot more) Parmesan and the truly comforting dish is ready. 

Go ahead, give it a try!