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Be Very Alfredo

Pillow-soft ricotta gnocchi molded into festive mini skulls smothered in a comforting basil infused Alfredo sauce...it's scary delicious!
5 from 5 votes
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Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Halloween Food, Italian
Keyword: Alfredo sauce, Halloween, Ricotta Gnocci, skull pasta
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • cups whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. white pepper

Basil-infused Alfredo Sauce

  • ½ cup butter, unsalted
  • 1 clove garlic, grated on micro plane
  • cup cream
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • ¼ tsp. salt (to taste)
  • ½ tsp. white pepper
  • 6-7 leaves fresh basil leaves torn(plus more minced for garnish)

Instructions

Basil-infused Alfredo Sauce

  • In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add grated garlic and cream and heat over low heat for 5 minutes. Add parmesan and cream cheeses, and heat stirring frequently until cheeses are melted. Add basil and heat over low heat until the sauce thickens. Add more cream cheese to thicken further as needed. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and set aside.

Gnocchi Skulls

  • Drain ricotta cheese by placing it on a few layers of paper towels and press to release some of the liquid until you get 12 ounces of drained ricotta cheese. Scrape cheese into a bowl. Add egg yolks and stir briefly until combined. Add flour, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir until combined. Try not to over mix.
  • Shape into a flat disk and place on a floured surface and cut into 8 wedges. Roll out one wedge into a 6-7 inch length rope and cut into 1 inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and press into a well floured silicone skull mold. Gently peel mold from the gnocchi and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover with a towel and repeat molding gnocchi skulls. (Makes 50-55 mini skulls)
  • Bring salted water to a boil and drop gnocchi skulls into water in small batches and boil until gnocchi floats to the surface. Remove from water and transfer to a large skillet. Repeat until all skulls are cooked. Remove basil leaves from Alfredo sauce and pour sauce into the gnocchi and heat through. Serve with minced basil and parmesan.

Notes

Skull silicone mold from Amazon