These are malfatti, and I want you to see me rolling them. The mixture is very wet and messy, but it’s fun.
Dollop a dessertspoonful of the mixture onto a tray dusted with semolina, add a touch more semolina on top, and very, very gently roll it into a ball – they’re like little balls of air. Make sure they don’t touch. I make them in the morning, so all I have to do later is cook them. I buy semolina by the sackload!
The secret is getting all the moisture out. I used my own ricotta, but if you use shop-bought, drain it for an hour or so first. Same with the spinach: cook it, drain it and squeeze it through your hands.
To cook, re-round them and drop them into a pan of salted, simmering water. There’s no need for a timer. Like pasta and gnocchi (which these basically are, without the potato), they’re done when they rise to the top. Always do one for the pot!
Serve on a really simple tomato sauce – just onion, garlic, a tin of chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper – with a good scraping of Parmesan and a little black pepper.