H O S T E D
Thanks to Tuscany-born Head Chef Emanuele Faggi, I tried something unique to that region of Italy for the first time.
Called “Gnudo” (it means “nude” in Italian), they are handmade from strained ricotta and spinach and come in a size that falls between that of a ping pong ball and a tennis ball. After a quick parboil, they‘re cooked with baby squid, a pinch of cinnamon, loads of butter and sage for a rich umami taste. Chef Emanuele even showed off his flair for the dramatic by brushing on squid ink on the plate in his presentation of the dish.
I couldn’t help thinking that Gnudo‘s a little similar to Gnocchi. But after a couple of bites, I realised that nope, the former, even with the spinach entangled within, had a softer, pillowy and slightly mushy texture while the latter’s all about firm chewiness.