Kale and ricotta gnocchi in sage and bacon butter

“In Florence, these are called gnocchi gnudi, meaning naked gnocchi, because they’re like ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta only without their pasta clothes,” says Katie. “If you don’t have kale, use 200 grams cooked and well-squeezed spinach or sil

300 gm curly kale or cavolo nero, leaves coarsely chopped, stems discarded 250 gm firm ricotta, drained 100 gm parmesan or pecorino, grated, plus extra to serve 1 egg

30 gm plain flour, plus extra for dusting

¼ tsp finely grated nutmeg BACON, BUTTER AND SAGE SAUCE

100 gm unsalted butter

150 gm pancetta or bacon, cut into small strips

10 sage leaves

30 gm pine nuts, toasted

1 Boil kale or cavolo nero in salted water for 10 minutes, drain well and set aside.

When cool enough to handle, thoroughly squeeze out excess water and finely chop in a food processor or by hand, then transfer to a bowl. Add ricotta, parmesan, egg, flour and nutmeg, season to taste and stir to combine. The mixture should be firm enough to handle and not wet and sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour to the mix. Roll mixture into walnut-sized balls, ensuring they’re tightly packed so they don’t break up during cooking, and place on a floured tray. If you’re not cooking them straight away, loosely cover them and refrigerate for up to a day.

2 For bacon, butter and sage sauce, melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon and sage, and season to taste. Fry until bacon and sage are lightly browned (4-5 minutes). Add a ladleful of hot water and stir well. Leave sauce over a very low heat while you cook the gnocchi.

3 Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. Reduce heat to medium – unlike when cooking pasta, you want a slow rolling boil, not a rapid boil. Drop gnocchi carefully into boiling water. Let the water come back up to the boil and cook until gnocchi rise to the surface (3-4 minutes). Let them bob around for a further minute, then carefully remove with a slotted spoon and lower them gently into butter sauce. Fry gnocchi in sauce for a few minutes until lightly browned. Stir in pine nuts and serve scattered with grated parmesan.