Ndunderi, also known as Dunderi, is our favourite homemade pasta dumpling recipe from the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy.
Your family will love forking through this ancient Southern Italian pasta featuring flavourful ricotta, eggs, flour, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, basil, butter, whipping cream, lemon and white wine.
This easy “Ndunderi al Limone” vegetarian pasta recipe is a decadent main course to serve at an Italian-themed dinner party. Serve with fresh salads, antipasto, grilled steak or barbecued prawns.
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What Is Ndunderi?
Ndunderi, also known as Dunderi, are an ancient form of pasta and are even recognized as such by UNESCO.
In Roman times, they were made with spelt flour and curdled milk, but today they are prepared with wheat flour, eggs and ricotta cheese.
Nnunderi are essentially ricotta gnocchi. Instead of the usual potato and flour combination, ricotta cheese is the main ingredient that holds the dough together. This makes them much lighter, heavenly pillow-like in texture.
Nnunderi are a speciality of Minori on the Amalfi Coast. The dumplings are typically prepared with the juice of local lemons in a decadent creamy citrus sauce.
Travel to Italy by Cooking Ndunderi at Home
I love traveling to Europe!
During my first visit to the continent I traveled for 5 months by train and plane. I had the opportunity to eat my way through Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland,Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey and Italy.
What I love most about traveling to Italy is the opportunity to sample unique dishes in each region and city. The dishes in Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, Volterra, Saturnia, Pitigliano, Sorano, Montalcino, Siena) are unique from what you’d find in Venice, Modena, Milan, Rome, and Amalfi Coast.
Ndunderi is a dish unique to Naples and the Amalfi Coast but can found across Southern Italy. It’s a must try pasta for those enjoying a luxurious vacation in Positano.
Once back home from an Italian holiday you’ll have a newfound appreciation for the flavours of the Amalfi Coast and can impress friends and family by making our authenticNdunderi Pasta recipe!
Where To Eat Ricotta Ndunderi
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local Italian restaurant that servesNdunderi.
Haven’t traveled to Italy before? It may be helpful to first sample RicottaNdunderi at a local Italian restaurant to better understand how the dish is served. You can assess the ideal dumpling size, prefered sauce and other Italian dishes to serve at the table.
In Toronto, popular Italian restaurants in Yorkville, King West and Ossington that may serve handmadeNdunderi pasta include Bar Vendetta, Buca, Superpoint, Amano, Fabbrica, Oretta, FIGO, Nodo, Locale Mercatto, The Good Son, Taverna Mercatto, Ascari Enoteca, Il Fornello or Gusto 101.
My Family Loves Cooking Ndunderi
I love cookingNdunderi for my family.
I first cooked this traditional Southern Italian pasta recipe during a cold winter afternoon at my family’s cottage in Muskoka.
I knew my family would enjoyNdunderi because they love ordering gnocchi whenever we eat at an Italian restaurant. My father’s favourite dish is gnocchi with gorgonzola cream.
My family love decadent cream sauces, freshly squeezed lemon, and a variety of Italian cheeses so when I served them bowls of plumpNdunderi it was a match made in heaven. The previous year I had made Italian Dumplings in a simple tomato sugo, which quickly became a family favourite. We’ve now added Creamy LemonNdunderi to our regular recipe rotation.
This recipe is vegetarian but you can serve it alongside a ribeye steak or garlic butter fried prawns for the beef and seafood lovers in the family.
Health Benefits
Our authentic Dunderi recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
Eggs contain two vital nutrients that are not present in many foods: iodine and vitamin D. Eggs are also rich in tissue-building protein and vitamin B12, which helps your body manufacture blood cells.
The eugenol in basil can block calcium channels, which may help to lower blood pressure. The essential oils in the herb can help to lower your cholesterol and triglycerides. Basil also contains magnesium, which can help to improve blood flow by allowing muscles and blood vessels to relax.
Consuming dairy products (such as milk and cheese) provides health benefits — especially improved bone health. Dairy foods provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
Whole wheat flour is rich in vitamins B-1, B-3, and B-5, along with riboflavin and folate. It also has more iron, calcium, protein, and other nutrients than white flour.
Nutmeg is said to relieve pain, soothe indigestion, strengthen cognitive function, detoxify the body, boost skin health, reduce insomnia, increase immune system function and improve blood circulation.
A rich source of phytochemicals and vitamin C, lemons help boost your immune system and neutralize free radicals that cause disease and skin aging. Lemons also protect against heart disease and help improve blood flow to the brain.
Cooking Tips
This Dunderi recipe is quick and easy to make at home. Here are a few tips for first time Italian dumplings makers.
- Use a high quality large nonstick skillet to prepare the lemon cream sauce.
- Use a gnocchi paddle to form the dumplings or the tines of a fork.
- We suggest using a Southern Italian white wine such as Vermentino, Greco and Trebbiano.
- We’ve used Parmigiano Reggiano in the dough and sauce but you can substitute for another hard Italian cheese like pecorino or asiago.
- We’ve used store-bought cows milk ricotta cheese in this recipe but you could also make homemade ricotta.
What To Serve With Ndunderi
There’s nothing more comforting than cozying up to a bowl ofNdunderi swimming in lemon cream sauce.
For a light lunch or dinner, pair homemade Dunderi pasta with fresh salads like Vegetarian Roasted Pumpkin Feta Salad, Roasted Beetroot Salad, Garlic Lemon Chickpea Avocado Salad and Fennel, Apple, Celery and Roasted Hazelnut Salad.
If you’re serving Amalfi Ricotta Dumplings at a large Italian-themed dinner party pair the comfort food dish with grilled steak, barbecued prawns, roast vegetables or marinated antipasto.
After dinner why not dazzle your guests with one of our popular desserts such as Kardemummabullar Swedish Cardamom Buns , Gevulde Speculaas, Turmeric Pumpkin Spice Indian Cake, Chewy Easter Toffee Cadbury Mini Egg Cookie Bars, Oat Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips, Dark Chocolate Lindt Lindor Cookies, Maraschino Cherry Cupcakes Recipe or Cinnamon Babka.
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How To Make Ndunderi Video
Creamy Lemon Ricotta Ndunderi
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Gnocchi Paddle or Fork
- French knife
- Large pot
- Nonstick Skillet
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- cheese grater
Ingredients
Ndunderi Pasta
- 300 g Fresh Cow's Milk Ricotta drained
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 130 g All Purpose Flour
- 50 g Parmesan grated
- Salt & Pepper
- Pinch Ground Nutmeg
- 1 sprig Basil sliced
Lemon Sauce
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Lemon juice and zest
- 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
Instructions
- Put the ricotta in a sieve over a bowl for 30 minutes to ensure it is fully drained. Once the ricotta has drained, mix all ingredients for the ndunderi together (except the basil). Knead the dough just long enough to incorporate all of the ingredients. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a tea towel and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When the dough has chilled, divide the mixture in half. Make plump dumplings the size of walnuts. Easiest way to do this is to roll out the dough into a thick rope, about 1 inch in diameter before chopping it up. You should have a total of around 30 dumplings.
- Dust the prongs of a fork with flour and gently roll each ricotta ball along the tines, to make a pretty ridged dumpling. Or you can use a gnocchi paddle. Place the ndunderi on a floured surface while completing the remaining dumplings.
- In a skillet, melt butter and add juice of lemon, zest, white wine and cream. Cook until the sauce reduces and thickens, 3-4 minutes. Stir in grated parmesan cheese.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and plop dumplings in to simmer for 5 minutes. Once they bob to the top they are cooked and can be removed with a slotted spoon.
- Add the cooked ndunderi with a 4 tbsp cooking water to the sauce and cook all together for a few minutes or until sauce thickens and clings to the sauce.
- Remove from heat and add a sprinkle parmesan and chopped basil. Serve hot.
Nutrition
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