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Gnudi in brown butter with mushrooms, sage and hazelnuts
5 from 2 votes

Gnudi in Brown Butter with Mushrooms, Hazelnuts, and Sage

Soft, creamy, aromatic little balls of deliciousness smothered in brown butter sage sauce and topped with sautéed mushrooms and hazelnuts. Perfect quick refreshing lunch.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Resting Time1 day 12 hours
Total Time1 day 12 hours 50 minutes
Servings 34 gnudi
Calories: 56.1 kcal

Equipment & Tools

  • Baking tray medium
  • Kitchen scale
  • Etxtra small ice cream scoop optional

INGREDIENTS
 
Metric - US Customary

GNUDI

  • 623 g ricotta (high-quality)
  • 75 g parmesan (finely grated - Note 1)
  • 2 lemons (zest; Meyer)
  • ⅓ nutmeg (freshly grated)
  • ½ salt (Himalayan)
  • 780 g semolina flour

THE SAUCE

  • 1 handful sage leaves (fresh)
  • 42 g butter (unsalted; Kerrygold)
  • 2 tbsp hazelnuts (toasted and coarsely chopped)
  • 100 g mushrooms (Black poplar)
  • black pepper (freshly ground)

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE THE GNUDI

  • Combine all the ingredients for the gnudi into a large bowl and mix until well combined.
  • Spread and level half of the semolina onto a baking tray.
  • Add some semolina flour on the kitchen scale Take a small spoonful of the ricotta mixture and place it on the semolina. It should weight 20g/0.7oz. Lightly dust your hands and gently roll into a ball. Place the gnudi in the baking tray so that there is some space between each gnudi. Repeat until there is no more ricotta.
    USING AN ICE-CREAM SCOOP
    Scoop the ricotta mixture using the ice cream scoop and drop into the semolina. Repeat until there is no more ricotta mixture.
  • Spread the rest of the semolina over the gnudi and place in the refrigerator for at least 18 hours. Do not cover the gnudi.

COOK THE GNUDI & MAKE THE SAUCE

  • (Optional) Take the gnudi from the fridge and reshape each again into a ball - Note 2. Shake the excess semolina and place back on the tray.
  • Place a large pot of water over high heat and let it come to boil.
  • Meanwhile, warm the skillet over medium heat and add the butter and sage.
  • When the sage is cooked halfway and the milk has separated from the butter, take sage out and add the mushrooms. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until the mushrooms are almost done 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Add back the sage and hazelnuts. Turn the heat to low.
  • Cook the gnudi for 3 minutes exactly and gently add them into the sauce.
  • Shake the pan to coat the gnudi with the brown butter sauce - Note 4.

SERVING

  • Divide among the plates and grate some parmesan on top.
    Serve immidiately.

NOTES

  1. Use Microplane zester for best results.
  2. The gnudi will not be perfect since the ricotta is quite soft when initially shaped. Overnight, the water will evaporate, and the semolina will create a dough-like layer making the gnudi firmer and easier to shape.
  3. It is better to shake the pan not to break the gnudi. They are very fragile. Alternatively, you can use a soft spatula.

NUTRITION*

Serving: 1gnudi | Calories: 56.1kcal (3%) | Carbohydrates: 1.5g (1%) | Protein: 3.1g (6%) | Fat: 4.4g (7%) | Saturated Fat: 2.6g (16%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 13.5mg (5%) | Sodium: 59.8mg (3%) | Potassium: 45mg (1%) | Fiber: 0.3g (1%) | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 131.2IU (3%) | Vitamin C: 3.5mg (4%) | Calcium: 68.7mg (7%) | Iron: 0.2mg (1%)

* Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.