Ricotta and Spinach Dumplings

While I have heard of people using nutmeg for their dumplings, I believe that if you are going to cook using two ingredients that go into a lasagna, use Italian/lasagna spices. It is a mental block of mine, I know. So...this recipe is my version of Ricotta and Spinach Dumplings. It IS a vegetarian dish but I will also include a way to include meat to 'beef' it up a bit? Like my play on words? ;) Let me apologize before hand also, my camera I take pictures with died and I had to resort to using my phone...so the quality is lacking.

Let's get started. 

This makes about 4-5 servings, depending on your eaters. In my house with two boys who love to chow down, this serves 4 easily.

What you will need:

Large mixing bowl
Large stew pot (or the biggest one you can wrestle out)
Cookie sheet or toaster

For the dumplings:

2 eggs at room temp
2 cups ricotta cheese (you can use low-fat or whole, your choice)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese ( I suggest using the shredded kind and not the powdered kind out of the shaker)
16 oz thawed and drained spinach
8 tbsp flour
2 tbsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Extras:
1/2 cup flour
Marinara or a red tomato based sauce
Deli bread
Few extra pinches of Parmesan cheese for topping

*If you would like to make this a dish that includes meat, I suggest adding 1-3 lbs of Italian sausage to your red sauce. Ground beef would suffice as well.

Directions:

1. Fill up your large stew pot 2/3 of the way with salted water and bring to a boil.
2. Combine all ingredients for your dumplings in large mixing bowl
3. Mix dumpling ingredients well until you have a somewhat sticky or dough like mixture. If you need to add more flour, do so here.
4. On a separate plate, pour remaining 1/2 cup flour out.
5. Using a tablespoon, scoop and mold the mixture onto the spoon.
6. Transfer to the plate of flour and roll ball until coated.
7. Carefully drop into hard boiling water.
8. Depending on the size of your pot, you can add a few dumplings at a time. Dumplings will be done when they float to the top. 
9. If you are planning on making crustinis or toast at this time, either heat your oven to 350 or pop your bread into the toaster. Bread will cook at 350 for 5-7 minutes or depending on how crusty you prefer.
10. Use this time while your dumplings are cooking and bread is toasting to heat up your red sauce.
11. Continue to cook dumplings, using a slotted spoon to remove cooked dumplings.

Meat sauce:
If you want to add meat to this vegetarian dish, I suggest pre-cooking your meat then adding it at step 10.

To plate:
For presentation, ladle sauce onto plate. Neatly arrange dumplings on plate and sprinkle with  remaining shredded Parmesan. Serve with your crustini or toast.

The dumplings in this dish are very creamy and cheesy. The spinach does well not to overpower the dumplings but to add a nice subtle taste and body to the dish. These can be stored in your freezer and reheat very well. I would suggest storing them with any extra sauce, as the sauce helps heat the dumplings while soaking in the flavor. I hope you enjoy and be sure to comment with any questions or alternatives.