One Handed Cooks
Allie Grant, Jessica Beaton and Sarah Buckle
Penguin Random House Australia
Viking
ISBN: 9780670079018
Spinach and Ricotta Nudies
Makes 12
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOKING TIME 10 minutes
250 g baby spinach leaves
1 cup (200 g) fresh ricotta
25 g grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
⅓ cup (50 g) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 egg yolks, lightly whisked
½ cup (120 g) Tomato and basil pasta sauce (see page 237) or Hidden veggie sauce (see page 236)
Cooked pasta, fruit and vegetable sticks, to serve
Kids love the fillings in cannelloni and ravioli, so we like to serve them up as little ‘nudies’ (minus the pasta). These spinach and ricotta balls are a delicious vegetarian finger food that’s perfect for the tasting plate.
- Place the spinach and 1 tablespoon of water in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or until wilted. Drain the spinach and squeeze out as much as liquid as possible, then finely chop and place in a large bowl.
- Add the ricotta, parmesan, flour and egg yolk to the spinach and mix well to combine. Shape the mixture into dumplings the size of golf balls, or smaller if you prefer, flatten them slightly and dust lightly with flour.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to hold at a simmer. Use a slotted spoon to lower half the nudies into the pan and scoop them out when they rise to the surface. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Repeat to cook the remaining nudies. (The nudies can be served as finger food, without sauce, at this point.)
- Gently heat the tomato and basil pasta sauce or hidden veggie sauce in a saucepan or frying pan until warm. Add the nudies and very gently turn to coat in the sauce. Serve sprinkled with extra grated parmesan, if desired, and with pasta, fruit and vegetable sticks alongside.
NUTRITION NOTE If your baby or toddler tends to overstuff their mouth with food, make smaller balls to help them eat appropriately sized mouthfuls.
STORAGE These are best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
ALLERGIES/INTOLERANCES Gluten/wheat: use gluten- or wheat-free flour and pasta.
‘Extracted from One Handed Cooks by Allie Gaunt & Jessica Beaton with photography by Sarah Buckle, Viking, RRP$39.99
Reading, Writing and Riesling 
Another terrific-looking recipe, Carol! And with such interesting tastes and textures, too. And just the right size for small fingers and mouths.
I cooked these yesterday but I found them a bit slimy to touch, I wondered if anyone has had any joy crisping them up by baking or maybe crumbing somehow? Bubs wasn’t interested (I will try again in a few weeks). Maybe even just heating them in the oven would dry the outsides. She likes avocado so she can handle that texture I think, but I found it a bit much myself!
Thats a shame… crumbing sounds like a good idea