With the holidays coming up, I thought I’d change up the format of this week’s newsletter to focus on two spring-themed weekend project ideas in place of my typical weeknight dinner/weekend project combo.
Both of these recipes are vegetarian-friendly and feature bright flavors while still feeling cozy and comforting (which is, basically, my motto).
That said, if you’re looking for weeknight dinner inspiration, I’ve got you covered.
Weekend Project: Gnocchi di Ricotta al Limone
Creamy melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi pair with a tart, peppery lemon sauce.
The Gnocchi
If you’ve ever struggled with dense potato gnocchi, I highly recommend trying ricotta gnocchi. Ricotta gnocchi are much more forgiving; even “dense” ricotta gnocchi is quite pillowy. The dough (which is more a batter) comes together quickly in a mixing bowl with no special equipment. The dough is then cut into sections, each section is rolled into a thin rope, and each rope is cut into pillow-shaped gnocchi.
Al Limone Sauce
I love to pair ricotta gnocchi with a lemon sauce. It’s buttery, salty, and just tart enough from the lemon. The inspiration for this dish comes from ndunderi/dunderi (a type of ricotta gnocchi) from the Amalfi Coast of Italy.
If you’re not a big fan of lemon, I’d recommend this tomato butter sauce or a simple brown butter sage combo to try with the gnocchi!
Grab the full recipe with tons of step-by-step photos of the process below. ↓
Pea Pulao with Fried Onions
A refreshing pea (matar) pulao made with fragrant spices, cashews, raisins, peas, mint, and crispy fried onions.
Pulao is a wonderful side dish option, and this version is light, bright, and aromatic. Fried onions add texture on top, and fresh herbs brighten the whole dish.
One of the biggest challenges of cooking pulaos and biryanis is ensuring the rice cooks properly. Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of mushy pulao — or worse, the rice is somehow mushy and undercooked.
Many pulao/biryani recipes will have you cook the rice in liquid with all the aromatics, vegetables, and meat at once. The process usually is as follows: (1) Bring everything to a boil, (2) Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot for 20 minutes, then (3) Turn the heat off and allow the rice to sit for 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, this can be a precarious method, especially if you have an electric burner. Electric burners tend to retain heat for a long time, and it often takes too long for the heat to reduce to low after bringing it to a boil. As a result, you can end up with scorched rice.
Tips for Cooking Rice
With some research, I found the best way to achieve fluffy rice grains is by parboiling the rice (thanks to a tip from Andy Baraghani’s Herb Rice) first.
Then, after parboiling, the rice is added to the aromatics and steamed over low heat to allow the rice to finish cooking. It’s an extra step, but it’s completely worth it.
Get the full recipe below, plus all the tips and tricks you’ll need for fluffy pulao ↓
That’s all for this week!
-Karishma