Gnudi is a dumpling made of ricotta cheese similar to gnocchi.  It doesn't have the denseness of potato gnocchi.  It is lighter in both texture and flavor.  Think of the filling in ravioli.  And just like the filling in ravioli, you can add ingredients to the ricotta like greens or herbs.  

I made this gnudi with simple basic ingredients.  But instead of using regular flour, I used garbanzo or chickpea flour.   I wanted to keep this dish not only vegetarian but gluten-free.  I get more and more requests from clients for gluten-free dishes so I try to incorporate alternatives when I can.  I chose chickpea flour because it gives a slightly nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with the mushrooms.  

Ingredients
16oz. ricotta cheese (whole or part-skim), drained
1 egg 
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
3/4 cup chick pea flour, divided
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, ground
Dried mushrooms, approximately 2 cups when hydrated
2 cups of fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 cloves of garlic
4-6 fresh sage leaves
1/4 cup Marsala or Italian White Wine

Mushrooms 
I like to use a combination of fresh and dried mushrooms.  You can find dried mushrooms in most grocery stores.  I am lucky that there are several varieties of them in my grocery stores. I picked a mix of wild mushrooms this time.  Rehydrating them is easy.  Just place them in a bowl, pour boiling water over them and cover.  In about an hour, they will have rehydrated and ready to use.  The only thing you don't want to do when using dried mushrooms is to pour them into a strainer when they have hydrated.  You want to scoop out the mushrooms trying not to pull the excess water up.  The residual water may be gritty and you don't want that on your mushrooms.  That's not to say you can use that "mushroom broth", just pour it through a strainer or coffee filter once you have removed the mushrooms.

In a bowl combine the drained ricotta, egg, and yolk, Parmesan, 1/2 cup of the chickpea flour, salt and pepper, and nutmeg.  Using a tablespoon or small scoop, form the mixture into balls.  Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of garbanzo bean flour on a plate and roll the gnudi balls in it.  Place the gnudi in the refrigerator uncovered overnight.  Chilling the gnudi will cause a sort of coating or skin to form on the outside that will hold it together when cooking.

The next day, bring a pot with a several inches of water, to a light boil.  A high boil will break apart the gnudi.  Gently place the gundi in the water, a few at a time.  They are done when they float to the top (approximately 3-4 minutes).  Remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil and the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, place the garlic cloves and sage leaves in and fry.  The garlic and sage are flavoring the oil. When the garlic is golden brown and the sage starts too crisp, add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and cook until tender.   Finally, add the wine to deglaze the pan and flavor the mushrooms.  Once the wine has evaporated, remove the mushrooms from the pan.  

You could just combine the gnudi and the mushrooms at this point, but I like to give the gnudi a bit of a pan fry first.  In the same pan you used for the mushrooms, add a little more olive oil and pan-fry the gnudi until slightly brown.  

To finish off this dish, chop the crisp sage leaves and garlic up and add them to the mushroom mixture, taste for seasoning, and top with the gnudi.  

Growing up, the only winter squash I ever ate was acorn squash.  My grandmother would buy it when it was in season, cut it in half, take the seeds out and fill the cavities with brown sugar and butter, then bake them in the oven until soft.  It was a delicious treat.  I'm not sure if there were as many varieties on the market then, but now there are several  kinds that are easily available.

Spaghetti squash is one of those varieties that lends itself well to many dishes because it has a really mild flavor.  Once cooked, it is easy to remove from the skin with just a fork, producing spaghetti-like strands.  Hence, the name Spaghetti Squash.  

Now for me, it is NOT spaghetti.  It will NEVER be spaghetti.  That's not to say I don't like it, just not with any type of tomato-based sauce on it.  I do love it as a cold salad and a hot side dish.

First thing you need to know, is how to buy and cook this squash.  When buying a spaghetti squash, the outside should be very smooth, hard, and should be a pale yellow color.  To prepare it, cut it lengthwise, North to South.  Then take a large spoon and remove the seeds and membranes without taking the flesh.  Just like you would take the seeds out of a pumpkin before carving it.  Once you've done this, place the halves, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet and add just enough water to create steam.  The water amount will vary depending on the size of the pan you use.  You don't want them swimming but you want enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  Place them in a pre-heated 400-degree oven and roast for approximately 30 minutes.  You will know they are done when a knife easily comes out of the skin when inserted.  Remove from the oven and flip the squash over and let cool on the baking dish.  Once cool, take a fork and begin to scrape the cavity.  It should begin to shred into long strands.

My favorite way to prepare it cold is to add diced red onion, Kalamata olives, crumbled feta cheese, diced tomatoes, fresh oregano and parsley, and a lemon vinaigrette with garlic.  Add shrimp or chicken and you have a meal.  Another way is to add cilantro, mint, Serrano peppers, scallions, and chopped peanuts topped with a Thai-inspired peanut sauce and lime.

Lately, I have been eating it as a simple hot side dish with garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil.  If you buy fresh herbs, like I do, and aren't able to use them all up, dice them and put them in the compartments of an ice tray/mold, and fill with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  These silicone molds work great and you can find them in a variety of sizes and shapes.  When the oil and herbs harden up, just remove them and place them in a freezer bag for later use.  Next time I need two tablespoons of herbed, olive oil, I have it ready in my freezer.

​And by all means, if you love spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, go for it! ;)

Like many people, the new year has made me stop and think about the changes happening in my world and the changes I want to make happen in my world.  Some of these changes happen to us like becoming an empty nester.  That last child out of the house.  The end of being the daily caretaker of my children.  A job I have had for 32 years and have done with love, success, failure, laughter, tears, and a bit of craziness.  We can't stop these changes, we just have to adjust to them.  

Other changes we intentionally make like getting healthy. I decided to do just that and that meant going on a diet.  The chef on a diet!  The lover of food on a diet!  It was time to reset the body and start again.  At first, I was miserable.  I thought that getting healthy was killing my creativity with food.  But as the days turned into weeks I got my creative groove back.  

In my home, I have a wall of cookbooks.  Some I love and use over and over and some I have used once, maybe twice.  Some I use for inspiration and some are just for reference and technique.  I love them!  I am a very visual person so if a cookbook doesn't have beautiful pictures or illustrations, it's probably not on my shelves.  Today, I found myself back at those bookshelves pulling for inspiration.  The ones pictured above are where I will start today to get creative again and feed my love for cooking.  And while my life is about fewer people around my table, fewer pounds, and inches around my middle, it will be about the abundance of flavor and creativity with food.  I fully intend to embrace "Less is More".