Eatwell Farm

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Malfatti with Tomato Sauce

Serves 4
This version is from cookyourdream.com and originally called for spinach, but I have switched it to the chard.  There are many recipes, some that are made with brown sage butter, and that also looks fantastic.
1 TB Butter
1 Shallot, finely chopped
3.5 oz fresh Chard
Salt and freshly ground Pepper
Pinch of grated Nutmeg
8 1/2 oz Ricotta Cheese
2 oz grated Parmesan
1 Eatwell Farm Egg + 1 Yolk
1 to 4 oz Semolina or All-Purpose Flour
Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté shallot for about 4 minutes.  Add chard leaves, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook for 5 minutes until wilted.  Drain in a sieve placed over a medium bowl, pressing to squeeze out excess liquid.  Save the squeezed liquid.  Chop the chard.  In a large mixing bowl, combine drained ricotta, parmesan, egg, egg yolk, chopped chard and chard liquid.  Season with salt if needed.  Start adding flour/semolina, mixing well between each addition, to get a soft mixture but not very sticky.  If you make the mixture too thick, the malfatti will get heavy and chewy.  Sprinkle some flour on a plate.  Form the mixture into a small egg-shaped pieces using two spoons dipped into hot water.  Place them carefully on a plate, sprinkle some more flour over and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.  To cook the malfatti, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the malfatti in batches so that they have enough space and water to cook.  When they float to the surface continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.  Remove them with a slotted spoon,, drain and keep warm until all the malfatti are done.  Divide them between plates, pour tomato sauce over and sprinkle with parmesan and oregano leaves.
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
2 TB Olive Oil
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
Salt
1/2 dried Chili Pepper OR use as many of your Lunchbox Peppers as you would like, keeping in mind that will not make for a spicy tomato sauce.
1 lb Shady Lady or Roma Tomatoes, cored and chopped coarsely
2 tsp fresh Oregano, finely chopped
Extra Parmesan, to serve
Prepare the tomato sauce.  Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and chili pepper, fry for a minute.  If you are using lunchbox peppers, chop them to the size you prefer and add them in with the garlic.  Stir in the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 - 20 minutes, until tomatoes and peppers are soft.