Serves 4

• 1 ½ pounds fresh spinach cooked, drained and chopped, or 1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• ½ pound mozzarella, grated, or other skim-milk soft white cheese
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs beaten
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Extra flour for coating
• A little butter
• Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

1. Drain the spinach, then puree it in a blender or food processor. Put the puree into a saucepan and dry it over the heat for a minute. Remove from the heat.

2. In a bowl, mix together the mozzarella cheese, flour, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and spinach. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. If the mixture is very soft, put it into the refrigerator to firm up for about 30 minutes.

3. Roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture in a little flour. (All this can be done in advance.)

4. To cook the gnocchi, first heat the oven to low, to keep the gnocchi warm as they’re ready. Half-fill a large saucepan with lightly salted water and bring just to a boil.

5. Drop 6-8 gnocchi into the water and let them simmer very gently for about 5-10 minutes, until the float to the surface.

6. Make sure the water does not get beyond a bare simmer, and remove the gnocchi as soon as they are ready, or they may fall apart.

7. Drain the gnocchi well, then put them into a warmed serving dish, dot with a little butter and keep them warm while you cook another batch.

8. When all the gnocchi are done, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.