Holiday cooks | Malfatti like in Italy

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What if cooking for Christmas Eve became child’s play? Every week until Christmas, we offer you a simple and festive recipe that will make young and old alike want to get their hands dirty. This week: malfatti.



Véronique Larocque

Véronique Larocque
Press

When asked for a recipe suggestion that could be easily made by children, David Pellizzari immediately thought of malfatti. “It’s so much fun for the kids. They can get their hands dirty and dirty. ”

The recipe for this traditional dish from northern Italy is disarmingly simple: we mix all the ingredients, then we shape into balls. “It’s called” malfatti “, which means” badly done ” [en italien], it doesn’t matter if the children don’t have a lot of technical skills, ”explains the chef of BarBara Vin, located in the Saint-Henri district.

When the little cooks, under the supervision of their father, plunged their first malfatti into boiling water, it fell apart. Does David Pellizzari have any advice to prevent this from happening? “You have to make sure that the water does not boil too much. We want the water to be hot and simmering, ”he replies, adding that the water must be very, very salty.

How are malfatti served? Traditionally, as a main course in a tomato sauce. We could, however, choose to make smaller balls and serve them as a starter, suggests the chef.

Recipe


HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS

Malfatti

Yield : for 8 people

Ingredients

  • 225 g (1 cup) ricotta
  • 450 g (about 11 cups) chopped spinach (or Swiss chard)
  • 250 ml (1 cup) breadcrumbs
  • 2 g (1 tsp.) Nutmeg
  • 125 g (1 cup) grated pecorino cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 120 g (1/2 cup) butter
  • 30 ml (2 tbsp.) Chopped basil
  • 15 ml (1 tbsp.) Chopped mint
  • A pinch of salt
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Pepper
  • Flour, as much as needed
  • Very, very salty water (for cooking)

Preperation

  1. Combine all the ingredients except the flour and water.
  2. Shape 25 to 30 g balls.
  3. Roll each ball in flour. Shake to remove excess.
  4. Boil very, very salty water in a pot.
  5. Add the malfatti. When they float, after about 2 or 3 minutes, remove them from the cauldron.
  6. Serve the malfatti in a tomato sauce.


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