Ricotta and spinach gnocchi recipe Melt half the butter and gently sauté the onion until it is soft but not coloured. Stir in the spinach. Put in a bowl and allow to cool, then mix in the ricotta, egg yolks, parmesan, nutmeg, two thirds of the flour and some seasoning. Taste for seasoning - it needs to be aggressively seasoned or the gnocchi will be bland. Sprinkle the rest of the flour lightly on to a baking-sheet or your work surface. Using floured hands roll the mixture into little balls about the size of a brazil nut in its shell, then slightly elongate so you have little gnocchi that are about 1.5cm (½in) wide. Roll each one gently over the floured surface so it has a light coating. You should get about 40. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour. To make the sauce melt the butter and gently sauté the onion, celery and carrot until soft but not coloured. Add the tomatoes and sugar, plus 100ml (3½fl oz) water and some seasoning. Bring to the boil then turn down to a very gentle simmer and leave to cook for 40 to 45 minutes. It should be pretty thick, like a sloppy purée. Process in a blender then put back in the rinsed pan. Stir in the cream. If it seems too thick, add a little more water. Set aside. Put a really large pan of lightly salted water on to boil. Melt the rest of the butter for the gnocchi in a frying-pan. Cook the gnocchi 10 at a time by dropping them in gently boiling water. Two minutes after the water comes back to the boil lift out the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and drop them into the melted butter. Shake them around a little and cover the pan. When they are all cooked, gently heat them through in the butter, reheating the tomato sauce at the same time. Put some sauce in each soup plate and spoon gnocchi on top. Sprinkle on more parmesan and grind on black pepper. Serve immediately.