ByDavid
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Packed with fresh spinach and ricotta cheese, these Malfatti are an easy homemade pasta that will quickly become a family favorite!
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It’s not often that you intentionally try to make a recipe look bad, but that’s exactly what I did with these Malfatti. Ok, so maybe I didn’t try to make these malfatti look bad. However, by definition, malfatti means ‘poorly made.’ Nothing like calling a recipe ‘poorly made’ to really get your taste buds watering, right?
In all seriousness, though, malfatti are delicious! These tender pasta dumplings arecommon in the Lombardy region (northwest) of Italy, and they’re actually very easy to make. We’ve got ravioli molds, pasta machines and gnocchi boards stashed away here in our house. As much as I love using those tools, they all stayed put in the cabinets for this recipe. All you need is a knife, a big bowl and your hands. Once you get the malfatti shaped, they cook in just about 3 minutes. Nice and easy…and delicious! This is seriously the tastiest ‘poorly made’ recipe I’ve ever had.
I’ve been a huge fan of gnocchi ever since my first trip to Italy way back when I was in high school. I learned how to make gnocchi while I was there, and I brought that recipe back home with me. It took a number of years, but I finally figured out how to make those potato gnocchi not sink like a lead brick. (The secret was a food mill.)
Malfatti: Easy Homemade Pasta
Instead of potatoes, malfatti use ricotta cheese as the base. (They’re fairly similar to this ricotta gnocchi recipe I posted way back in the early years of this blog.) And while they might mean ‘poorly made,’ malfatti are actually quite attractive when served in a bowl of homemade red sauce. The fun green color comes from the whole pound of spinach that goes into this recipe.
On a side note, it’s remarkable how that huge container of spinach reduces down to the size of a fist once it’s cooked and chopped.
Some versions of malfatti call for the dough to be rolled out and then chopped into little rectangles about the size of your pinky finger. For this version, I chose to roll the malfatti dough into balls, but either method would work. All together, this recipe is not only visually appealing, but it’s really tasty, too. The texture is light and airy (try not to overwork the dough when making the balls) and the flavor is top-notch. I chose to serve these over my super easy red sauce recipe, but next time I want to try this with a basil pesto sauce.
Oh, and one last note about the ingredients. This recipe calls for equal parts all-purpose flour and semolina flour. Don’t skip the semolina flour! Semolina flour looks similar to cornmeal, but it’s actually milled from wheat just like all-purpose flour. Semolina is a bit coarser in texture, and this helps the pasta hold its’ shape during cooking.
If you’re looking for a unique dish to make for dinner, then give malfatti a shot! Unlike other types of fresh pasta which can be a labor of love, malfatti are surprisingly quick and easy. Cheers!
Did you make this Malfatti recipe at home? Leave a comment! Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog).
Looking for more tasty Italian recipes? Check out these other favorites:
Spaghetti Carbonara
Classic Italian Tiramisu
Quick Caprese Pasta
Shrimp Gremolata Linguine
Malfatti
Packed with fresh spinach and ricotta cheese, these Malfatti are an easy homemade pasta that will quickly become a family favorite!
4.88 from 16 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes
Total Time: 37 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 362kcal
Ingredients
For the Malfatti
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup semolina flour
- 15 oz. whole milk ricotta drained
- 16 oz. fresh spinach
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- pinch of nutmeg
For the Sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium diced white onion
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spinach to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately rinse spinach in cold water.
Drain off cold water and use several paper towels to press as much water as possible out of the spinach. Using either a knife or a food processor, finely chop spinach. Place chopped spinach in a large bowl.
Add all-purpose flour, semolina flour, ricotta, egg, Parmesan and salt; mix until well combined. (Note: If mixture if still wet, add a couple more tablespoons of semolina flour.)
Roll mixture into individual 1½” balls; transfer malfatti to a sheet pan. Repeat process until all of the mixture has been used.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add malfatti and cook until they float to the surface (~2-4 minutes). Remove malfatti with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain.
While the malfatti drain, make the sauce by adding olive oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, crushed tomatoes, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce to medium heat and continue cooking for 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
To serve, add tomato sauce to plates and top with malfatti.
{Optional} Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese before serving.
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