Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle

Tender on the inside and golden brown on the outside, this ricotta gnocchi à la poêle is a wonderful, protein-full dish, easily dressed up to suit any palate.

I’ve made gnocchi with polenta and with potatoes but the most tender kind of all is made with ricotta, which as a bonus, adds protein that the other two methods do not. 

If you think gnocchi must be boiled, let me introduce you to a method I first learned in France. Anything cooked à la poêle simply means it’s been pan-fried over a reasonably high flame. In other words, it’s been seared in a hot pan to protect the insides from drying out. 

Once the gnocchi are cooked, dress them with your favorite sauce or seasonings. Below I give the method, as per our idol Jacques Pépin, for gnocchi persillade, tossed with a mix of minced flat leaf parsley and fresh garlic. 

I don’t know that he ever made gnocchi persillade but I have made pan-fried frog legs adapted from his recipe, finished with parsley and garlic and they are divine. Perhaps I’ll share that recipe someday! 

Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle

This recipe makes enough to feed five or six people. Since we are not that many, I tried to freeze some in rolls wrapped in cling film but, once thawed, they needed way more flour to make them easy to roll out again and cut into pieces. Next time I will cook them all à la poêle before freezing them. I’m thinking that will work better. I’ll update this post when I do.

Ingredients

For the ricotta gnocchi:

8 ¾ oz or 250g ricotta, with any visible liquid poured off

2 cups or 250g 00 flour plus extra for rolling

1 large egg

For frying: 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the persillade:

2 cloves garlic

Several stems flat leaf parsley, leaves only

For adding the persillade:

1 tablespoon butter, divided

Method

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta, 1 cup or 125g of the flour and the egg and stir to combine. 

Knead the dough with your hands, adding flour until you have a smooth elastic dough that is soft but not sticky. You may not use it all. It all depends on the moisture in your ricotta. (For this batch I only used 1½ cups or 188g flour.)

Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Separate the ball into 8 or so pieces. Working one at a time, roll out on a floured work surface into a long, even roll.

Use a knife to cut the roll into ½ in or 1 cm pieces. 

Press the pieces with a floured fork. 

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, drizzle in the olive oil. Add the gnocchi being careful not to crowd the pan. I only cooked two rolls for these photos and did it in two batches. 

Pan fry for about three minutes or until browned on the one side. 

Turn and pan fry for an additional 3-5 minutes on the other side. Remove to a plate and continue cooking the rest of the gnocchi in batches. 

Meanwhile, remove the parsley leaves from the stalks and mince the parsley and garlic cloves. 

To make the persillade, mix the minced parsley and garlic together. 

Once all the gnocchi are browned and you are ready to serve, put them all back into the hot pan. Add in the tablespoon of butter, separated into three.

As the butter is melting, add in the persillade aka the parsley garlic mix. 

Stir and pan fry for a few minutes to cook the garlic a bit, wilt the parsley and heat the ricotta gnocchi through. 

Spoon straight on to plates or into a serving dish and serve hot. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 7th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter G. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the G recipes below:

• Cheesy Bacon Grits from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Chunky Garlic Stuffed Olive Deviled Eggs from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Gochujang Garlic Flower from Magical Ingredients
• Gochujang Sugar Cookies from A Messy Kitchen
• Golden Diner Pancakes with Maple Honey Syrup from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Grilled Garlic Honey Boneless Wings from Blogghetti
• Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Packets from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Gluten Free Bread Flour from Sneha’s Recipe
• Kadai Aloo Gobi from Mayuri’s Jikoni 
• Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle from Food Lust People Love

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas

One of my favorite easy meals, these bacon and egg breakfast quesadillas are spicy, rich and cheesy, the perfect combination in my book. Great also for lunch or dinner!

Growing up in Texas, tortillas are a common kitchen staple. I almost always have some in the freezer or refrigerator, ready for quick meals. And, failing that, I have masa harina in the pantry so if I’m really hard up and not time-pressed, I can make some!

There is no quicker snack or meal than simple cheese quesadillas. Two ingredients: cheese and tortillas. Even a child can make them and mine sure did! Add in a protein or some vegetables and now you’ve got something not only tasty but nutritious. 

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas

I’m calling these breakfast quesadillas because, you know, bacon and eggs, but truly, they are a favorite for snack, lunch and dinner as well. I like to serve them with sliced avocado or salsa for topping. 

Ingredients for each quesadilla

1 oz or 28g sharp cheddar

1 spring onion

1 bird’s eye chili pepper, optional but highly recommended

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

2 fresh tortillas (I used mitad y mitad, half flour/ half corn.)

1 oz or 28g bacon crumbles

Optional for serving – sliced avocado

Method

Slice the spring onion finely and mince the chili pepper, if using. 

Grate the cheddar cheese. 

To a small bowl, add the egg, spring onion and chili pepper. Season with a pinch of fine sea salt and a few good grinds of black pepper. 

Whisk with a fork to combine. 

In a small nonstick skillet over a medium heat, toast the tortillas on both sides and set them aside.

Add the bacon crumbles to the pan and cook until they are crispy. 

Pour in the egg mixture and cook just until the bottom is set and the top is still runny.

Place one toasted tortilla on top of the egg and press down very gently. 

Cook for a few more minutes until the egg is set enough so you can turn it over easily without making a mess. 

Sprinkle the cheddar on the egg evenly. 

 Top with the second tortilla. 

Cook until the cheddar starts to melt and stick to the tortilla. Again, if you turn too soon, you’ll lose some cheese and no one wants that. Cheese sticking well? Flip the quesadilla. 

Cook for a couple of more minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and the quesadilla is hot through. 

You can keep the finished quesadillas warm in a low oven, wrapped in foil, until you are ready to serve if you are making multiples or serve immediately if you are not. 

Cut the quesadilla into wedges with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. 

Serve hot! 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are featuring the humble tortilla. Many thanks to our host, Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Check out the links below. 

• Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas by Food Lust People Love
• Baked Vegetable Chimichanga by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Enchiladas by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crock Pot Quesabirria by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Gluten Free Sweet Potato Tortillas by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Shrimp Tacos with Coleslaw by Making Miracles
• Vegan Samosadillas by Sneha's Recipe
  
  

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spicy Samurai Fries

Spicy Samurai Fries are crispy thin cut fries, topped with samurai sauce, spring onions and crunchy fried shallots. They are a hugely popular street food in Belgium. 

Samurai sauce is a spicy, creamy mixture of mayonnaise and sambal oelek and, often, ketchup. Known for its spiciness and rich flavor, it is a staple in Belgian friteries aka fry shops.

According to Google, “Samurai sauce is called that because its intense spiciness is meant to "sting" like a samurai's sword. Popularized in Belgium in the early 2000s, the name reflects a "warrior-like" heat rather than a Japanese origin.”

Do you have to use Kewpie mayonnaise? I don’t know, but a lot of the recipes I found online and by consulting the Reddit brain trust did mention it by name. Since sambal oelek isn’t Japanese, perhaps Kewpie is a cultural nod after the fact, to samurai warriors being Japanese. 

If you want the authentic Kewpie, buy the one in the bottle in the plastic bag. It’s actually labeled Made in Japan. The one without the bag is a different and, in my opinion, an inferior recipe, made elsewhere. 

Spicy Samurai Fries

You can adjust the spiciness of the samurai sauce by adding more mayo and/or using less sambal. Some recipes also called for ketchup so if you reduce the sambal and want more color, that’s a legitimate addition. I also added ground cayenne because despite chili peppers being the first two ingredients, my sambal wasn’t very spicy. 

Ingredients

½ cup or 110g Kewpie mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sambal oelek

¼ teaspoon cayenne - optional

2 spring onions, green part only

2 tablespoons fried shallots – mine were store-bought

1 lb or 450g frozen shoestring fries

Method

In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the sambal together until well combined.

 

Add in the cayenne if using and stir well. 

Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Slice the green part of the spring onions thinly, on the diagonal. 

Cook your fries according to package instructions. 

Once the fries are nice and crispy, tip them onto a plate with paper towel to blot any oil that might have cooked off of them. 

Put them on a serving dish and drizzle some of the samurai sauce over the fries. I prefer not to put too much so that the fries stay as crispy as possible. 

Sprinkle on the spring onion slices and the crispy fried shallots.

Serve immediately with the rest of the samurai sauce alongside for dipping. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for or with fries or their British counterpart, chips. Many thanks to our host, Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out the links below.

• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Loaded French Fries from Making Miracles
• Corned Beef Poutine from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Keto Rutabaga French Fries from Sneha's Recipe
• Leftover French Fry Hash from A Messy Kitchen
• Masala Chip Butty from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Lomo Saltado from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Samurai Fries from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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