Ricotta and spinach dumplings "Malfatti"

Lombardy

Cooking time: 20/25 minutes Difficulty: Ingredients, amounts for 4/6 people: butter: 5 oz onion: 1 small white flour: 9 oz grated Parmesan cheese: 4 oz nutmeg: pepper: 'ricotta' (type of cottage cheese): 7½ oz salt: spinach: 1 lb 5 oz eggs: 3

Preparation: Clean and wash the spinach carefully and then boil it without water. Then drain and chop it up finely. Cut a cross shape on top of the onion and flavour the butter by putting 30 g (1 oz) into a pan, adding the onion and cooking for a while. Remove the onion, add the spinach and sauté. Leave the spinach to cool and then add the ricotta, half the quantity of Parmesan cheese, a pinch of nutmeg, 2 whole eggs plus 1 yolk and 200 g (7 ½ oz) of flour. Work the mixture well, season with salt and pepper and divide into a number of walnut-sized dumplings, then dip each one in the white flour. Boil them for a few minutes in plenty of boiling, salted water. When the 'malfatti' dumplings rise to the surface, drain them and dress them with the remaining melted butter and the remaining half quantity of the grated cheese. Keep them hot in the oven for 5 minutes, allowing them to take on flavour, and then serve immediately, as they are best eaten freshly made.