Sunday, 12 April 2026 / Topics:
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
500g smooth ricotta
250g blanched spinach, chopped
1 egg yolk
80g pecorino, finely grated, plus 40g extra
Pinch of salt
1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g butter
1/2 bunch sage, leaves picked
Method:
- Mix ricotta, egg yolk, 80g pecorino, and a good pinch of salt into a large bowl until well combined. Gradually add flour, mixing well after each addition until dough is firm and not too sticky. Scoop ping pong size lumps of dough and roll into rough ball shapes, dusting hands with flour if needed (they shouldn't be perfect, malfatti means 'badly made').
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the malfatti and cook until they rise to the surface.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, add the sage and allow to gently wilt.
- When the pasta is cooked, using a slotted spoon scoop malfatti straight into the melted butter, carefully swirl the pan to coat and emulsify the butter.
- Spoon malfatti onto serving plate, pouring over the butter and sage. Grate over the remaining pecorino.
