Ingrained in Italian culture, pasta has been a favorite for thousands of years. One of the most popular stuffed varieties is the ravioli, which is made by encasing meat, cheese, and/or vegetables between two thin pieces of dough. Among the many facts you should know about ravioli , aside from the filling they can be customized into circles, crescents, or squares of different sizes.
Although they appear to be related, gnudi is a variation with one major distinction: It's not technically pasta. Ravioli and gnudi are sometimes confused because they both look like dumplings and share a Tuscan background. Whereas ravioli consists of a filling wrapped in pasta dough, gnudi doesn't contain pasta at all.
In the Tuscan dialect, the term "gnudi" literally means "naked," which is a reference to the dumpling looking like ravioli filling cooked without the pasta shell. Outside of Tuscany, these rolled balls are called "malfatti," which translates to "badly done." Gnudi is often confused with gnocchi, a smaller Italian dumpling that primarily consists of potato or flour.
Those ingredients make gnocchi more chewy and firm, compared with gnudi which features ricotta, a creamy, soft cheese as the main ingredient. That's why in some parts of Italy, gnudi is referred to as "gnocchi di ricotta e spinaci," which means "ricotta and spinach gnocchi." Making and getting creative with gnudi Traditionally, ricotta is the focal ingredient in gnudi, but spinach may also be added.
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