-- INGREDIENTS --
1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce container) whole milk ricotta cheese
3 egg yolks
1 cup (about 4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (about 1 ounce) freshly-grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
Thyme
-- INSTRUCTIONS --
Prep the water: Bring a large stockpot of generously-salted water to a boil over high heat.
Drain the ricotta: Simply sandwich it between a few paper towels and gently press so that the paper towels soak up the excess moisture. Try to soak up as much of the excess liquid as possible. The drained ricotta should now weigh about 12 ounces.
Mix your dough ingredients. Add the egg yolks to the ricotta and stir briefly to combine. Add in the flour, Parmesan, salt, thyme and pepper, and stir until evenly combined. Avoid over-mixing. The dough will be a bit moist and maybe a bit sticky, but it should be holding together well. If it feels too wet, just add in another few tablespoons of flour.
Roll out and cut the dough. Shape the dough into a round disk with your hands, then transfer it to a lightly-floured cutting board and sprinkle the dough with lightly with flour. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into eight even pie wedges. Using your hands, gently roll out each wedge out into an even log, approximately 3/4-inch wide. Cut each log into individual bite-sized little gnocchi squares. Lightly dust the gnocchi with flour once more and give them a quick toss so that they are all lightly coated with flour. (This will help prevent them from sticking together.)
Boil the gnocchi. Carefully transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water to cook. Then once they float — usually after 30 seconds or so — drain the gnocchi.
Serve. Serve immediately, tossed with your favorite sauce and whatever other ingredients sound good!