Swiss Chard Ricotta Dumplings with Tomato and Fontina Cheese Sauces

I happen to love dark, leafy greens and I love having both a red sauce and a white sauce on my baked pastas (like cannelloni), so here you go. These dumplings are soft little pillows of goodness. They practically melt in your mouth. If you don’t want to go through all of these steps, just make the dumplings with thawed spinach, use a jarred marinara for the tomato sauce and simply sprinkle the fontina and Parmesan cheeses over the top before baking. You won’t be sorry.

Ingredients (serves 6):

For the dumplings:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup chopped pancetta (about 2 ounces)

¼ cup finely chopped onion

5 packed cups of  Swiss Chard that has been de-stemmed, cleaned, dried and chopped (can sub out 2 two 10 ounce packages of frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry OR collard greens—whatever dark leafy green you like)

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

4 egg yolks

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

4 to 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

About 1 cup flour for rolling the dough

6 cups water for boiling

2 teaspoons salt for boiling

For the tomato sauce:

1 Tablespoon butter

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree

Salt to taste

For the fontina cheese sauce:

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup grated fontina cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

For the dumplings: Heat the Tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped pancetta and cook just until it just starts to brown. Add in the onion and cook for about 3 minutes until the onion is soft, but not browned. Add in the Swiss chard and salt and cook for about 8 minutes until the chard wilts and there is no more liquid in the bottom of the skillet. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan and nutmeg. Stir in the chard mixture and combine thoroughly. Add the flour by Tablespoons until the mixture becomes a soft but firm dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm the dough up.

Spread the 1 cup of flour in a large shallow bowl and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Shape the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut and then flatten them slightly into a disk shape. Roll the dough in the flour, shake off any excess, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. You will end up with about 40 dumplings.

To cook, bring a large pot of water up to a boil and add 2 teaspoons salt. Drop the dumplings in about 6 at a time until they rise to the surface-about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large plate. Repeat until all the dough is used.

For the tomato sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the tomato puree and salt. Cook for 10 minutes until the sauce is simmering. Turn the heat to low and keep warm.

For the fontina cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, add the flour and combine thoroughly. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the fontina a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese melts. Add in the Parmesan and nutmeg and stir. Turn the heat to low and keep warm.

Assembly and Baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Ladle in enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Lay the dumplings in the tomato sauce. Ladle on more tomato sauce and then some of the fontina cheese sauce.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.