A few days ago, Good Food listener KC sent me a message asking for my Beet Ricotta recipe. I was happy to oblige and we embarked on an exchange of emails. First off we commiserated about the difficulty of sourcing decent true Italian style ricotta when you don’t live in an urban foodie hot spot. So I sent her to a Serious Eats Food Lab post which I think is the most thorough explanation of how to make ricotta at home. (Thanks J. Kenji-Alt for all your good work in the Food Lab.)
Then KC threw me another curve when she mentioned that she needed a gluten free alternative to the flour used to bind the ricotta in my recipe. I suggested that she try potato starch and this is her story of success:
Wanted to report back to you on how the gnocchi turned out last night. Added ¼ c of potato starch at a time and after the third introduction the gnocchi was still too sticky to handle. Fearing that the addition of any more starch would compromise the gnocchi’s texture, I used a cookie scoop to drop ¾” balls into the water. To my surprise, the gnocchi held their shape resulting in melt in your mouth pillows of utter joy! I’m usually a silent eater but found myself humming loudly with each delectable bite.
Here’s my original recipe. To make it gluten free substitute 3/4 cup potato starch for the flour in the recipe, then follow KC’s advice on shaping and cooking above.