Don’t let the Swiss chard fool you; there’s very little that’s
healthy about this dish. But who cares about healthy? What you
get if you make this is a bowlful of green-flecked, cheesy
dumplings swimming in a pool of butter. It’s also a fun dish to
make because so much of it is based on your own sense of touch.
You want to add just enough flour so that you can easily roll the
dough and cut it up into dumplings. Using a bench scraper to do
that cutting is smart because then you can use the flat side of the
scraper to scoop everything up straight into the pot of boiling
water. Be sure to drain the ricotta cheese overnight before you
start the dumplings (if you don’t, the dumplings will require more
flour, and they’ll be heavier).
2 cups ricotta cheese, set over a strainer lined with
cheesecloth and drained overnight in the refrigerator
1 cup blanched Swiss chard*, squeezed dry and chopped
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs, plus 3 egg yolks
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, chard, Parmesan, 2
tablespoons salt, the nutmeg, eggs, and yolks with a large rubber
spatula. Mix as thoroughly as possible* before adding the flour:
once you add the flour you want to mix it as little as possible or