This year, Eat to the Beat is proud to welcome a new spokesperson, long-time participant Chef Donna Dooher!

Chef Donna Dooher is the owner of Mildred’s Temple Kitchen in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood and has been participating in Eat to the Beat since its inception.

Eat to the Beat 2010

A chef for over 20 years, Chef Donna Dooher has been pursuing her passion for food at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, Avant-Gout Catering, and the Cookworks. She has also been featured on The Food Network, CBC’s Venture, and has made appearances on Breakfast TV, City Cooks, Vicki Gabereau, Fanny Kiefer, and Rogers Daytime.

See what she had to share with us when we sat down with her.

She enthusiastically encourages everyone to discover their inner chef.

Discover your inner chef tonight with her recipe for Gnudi!

Gnudi is a type of gnocchi made from ricotta cheese and a little bit of flour, which results in a light, fluffy, creamy and delicious meal.

Gnudi
Serves 8

2 cups ricotta
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
2 egg yolks
Pinch nutmeg, grated
½ tsp kosher salt
Pinch cracked black pepper
2 cups semolina flour

1.  Drain ricotta in cheesecloth over a bowl squeezing out excess liquid.
2.  Mix together the ricotta, egg yolks, Parmigiano-Reggiano, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add ²⁄³ of the all-purpose flour and combine (add the remaining flour if the dough is too sticky).
3.  Dust table with a little all-purpose flour and roll out a ¼ of the dough into a 1” cylinder. Continue rolling out the remaining dough in batches. Cut the dough into ½” pieces and roll each into a ball.
4.  Bury the gnudi in the semolina and rest each the refrigerator for 20 minutes before cooking.*
5.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add gnudi in batches. Cook until the gnudi float, approximately 2 – 4 minutes.
6.  Using a slotted spoon, scoop gnudi out of water and tap off excess moisture.
7.  Toss the gnudi in a sauté pan with melted butter over high heat. Let the gnudi brown, approximately 2 minutes.
8.  Transfer gnudi to plates and garnish with crispy sage leaves.

* The Chef’s Note: You can prepare the unused gnudi a couple of days in advance, just store them in the fridge buried in the semolina. You can also serve the gnudi with a rich tomato sauce, crispy pancetta or a creamy   gorgonzola sauce.

Crispy Sage Leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh sage

1.  Place the olive oil in a sauté pan and heat to 350 degrees (You can use a thermometer to take a read on the temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the temperature by dropping in the stem of the sage to see if it crisps up).
2.  Drop 3 or 4 whole sage leaves into the oil, cook until crispy, turning once. Place cooked leaves on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve as garnish.

Bon Appétit!

Tried this recipe? Share your cooking experience with us in the comments below.