1 pound spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups grated cheese
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons parsley, finely minced
grated rind of 1 lemon (zest)
1 cup rice flour
pepper, to taste
8 tablespoons butter, melted
fresh basil, chopped

Wash spinach well; steam and drain. Press out any excess water. Puree spinach in processor. Add ricotta cheese, 1 cup grated cheese, eggs, nutmeg, parsley, lemon zest, rice flour, and pepper. Process until well blended.

If you don’t have a processor, steam as above, finely chop spinach, put in large mixing bowl with rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then continue as below.

Remove from bowl of processor or mixing bowl and turn out onto floured board. Form into smooth ball, adding small amounts of rice flour as necessary. Roll the dough into long cylinders the thickness of your finger, then cut into ½ inch long pieces. Press the pieces with a fork to give them some texture. Lightly flour and set on a lightly floured tray to dry. Allow gnocchi to dry for about 3 hours. Do not omit this step, or your gnocchi will be gummy.

Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil and add about ¼ of the gnocchi. Boil gently until they float to the top, then boil only 1 minute longer. Drain well, turn into warmed bowl, toss gently with melted butter or serve with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately, passing the remaining grated cheese at the table.