Lea Hogg

Light, made so very quickly, gnudi are a firm favorite of mine at the moment. They are light balls of ricotta coated with a very thin layer of semolina and this is the type of dish that makes you look like you have spent ages preparing, yet nothing could be easier.

You will need:

500g ricotta
75g grated hard cheese
freshly ground pepper
1 egg
a pinch of fresh nutmeg
freshly ground pepper

During today’s programme I also added a large handful of chopped kale, parsley and basil [optional]

You will also need around 200g of semolina to roll the gnudi in [you only need a very thin film so most of this semolina will not be used

Place the ricotta in a bowl with all the other ingredients. Mash everything up and then cover your work surface with baking paper. Prepare a large dish or tray also lined with baking paper.

Take a teaspoon of the ricotta mix and roll it in the semolina on the work surface. Place each ball gently on the dish or tray. Repeat the process until you have used the mixture up. Place the gnudi in the fridge for at least an hour. I have made these on tv and cooked them after 20 minutes of preparation and they still hold together however best to refrigerate them for a longer period of time.

Boil a large pot with plenty salted water. Shake the extra semolina off the balls and drop into the boiling water. When they float to the top they are ready and lift them up gently one by one and place in a colander over a large pot. They are ready in 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook, as soon as they float to the top, remove them from the hot water.

In the meantime prepare the sauce of your choice. Here I used an onion, two cloves garlic, 12 fresh tomatoes, a spoon of tomato paste, half a glass of red wine, some dried oregano and seasoned with salt and pepper. A traditional fresh tomato sauce although I have made them using a different variety of sauces and you can find another recipe here with sage and walnut. For this tomato sauce, I place everything in a pan all together, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Whizz with a hand blender. Add more tomato paste if you prefer.

Plate the gnudi and cover with tomato sauce. Garnish with fresh flat leaf parsley

Photography Ian Noel Pace during a live tv show.

My eggs and fresh herbs come from Big Fresh, Mosta, cheese from P J Sutters and semolina from St Georges Brand