This is a recipe from an old cookbook, La Cucina Delle Stagioni, by Giovanni Calvera and Odilla Marchenisi.
Ingredients:
2 bunches chard, steamed, squeezed completely dry and finely chopped
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup flour of choice
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Saute the chard in 3 tablespoons butter for about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and add to a medium bowl with the ricotta, egg, and 3 tablespoons of the flour. Mix thoroughly.
2. Shape the mixture into small, round dumplings. Roll the dumplings in the remaining flour and cook them, a small batch at a time, by sliding them from a saucer into a pot of simmering salted water. After about 5-8 minutes, when the dumplings begin to float to the surface, lift them out with a slotted spoon, and keep them hot on a heatproof platter in the oven, preheated to its lowest setting.
3. To serve, melt the remaining butter and pour it over the dumplings. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese. Alternatively, the dumplings can be served with a tomato sauce.
Serves 4