Gnudi, spring vegetables and lemon butter sauce by Stuart Ralston

Hang the ricotta in a muslin (a tea towel will also work) in a sieve over a bowl so that the water drains away.

Mix the dry ricotta with the pecorino, flour and egg yolk.

Season with a pinch of salt, some fresh grated nutmeg and lemon zest.

Place semolina flour in a large flat baking tray.

Have a bowl of water to hand, dip your finger in and grab a small amount of ricotta mixture and form into a rough small dumpling (about the size of a teaspoon), then place in the tray of semolina, roll around until the dumpling is completely covered, repeat until you have finished the mix, wrap and store the gnudi for 24 hrs in the fridge. 

Put on a large pot of gently boiling water, with a big pinch of salt.

Poach the gnudi for 2-3 mins until they float.

Place the gnudi into a frying pan with 50g of butter and 100ml of water. Start to warm on a medium heat, this will start to make a butter emulsion (3-4 mins). Add a tablespoon of grated pecorino to the pan and warm. The butter, water and pecorino should start to reduce to form a glossy sauce that starts to coat the gnudi (about 1 min).

Remove the woody stems from the broccoli, blanch in boiling salted water until tender, cool in an ice bath.

Slice courgettes lengthways on mandolin to make sheets, cut in half and remove the seeded centre to create ribbons.

De-shell the broad beans and blanch in boiling salted water. Cool in an ice bath and remove the outer skins.

Once the gnudi are cooked, and the emulsion is thick, add lemon juice and grated parmesan to the sauce and mix well to incorporate. Fold in the spring vegetables and continue to cook until all the vegetables are hot (if the sauces becomes too thick or begins to separate add a small amount of warm water).

Finish with chopped herbs.

Extracted from Catalogued Ideas and Random Thoughts – A Cookbook by Stuart Ralston, available through Kitchen Press.