But Margie I want supper as soon as I get in the door!
Oh I get it! I’m that person too! Now I know that weeknights can be a fraught affair when you come home hungry, other people are hungry, and you just need something as faff free as possible. I get it! I hear you! That’s what Dinner Tonight is all about. So you could definitely make the gnudi the night before - nothing makes me feel more smug than doing get-ahead-cooking that I know my future self is going to thank me for. And it’s really very simple to make them, they just do better when they’ve had some time to chill (don’t we all?). Saying that, they only really 20 minutes or so in the fridge but I know that’s not practical for lots of people on a weeknight unless you want to eat very late and I don’t. So make them the night before - pour a glass of wine, listen to some music and make the gnudi. Or it’s a good Sunday afternoon activity to make Monday evening something you can look forwards to. You can make the tomato sauce ahead of time too. Then the next night when you want to eat them, you’ll be eating a little bowl of heaven in about 5 minutes.

Portions and freezing
I hate the idea that anyone is cooking for themselves feels put off by a recipe that says it serves 4 . So please don’t let that put you off, I am often cooking just for myself too as my husband works very long hours. Most of my recipes serve 2 with the idea that they are easy to double if you are serving more, ideal for 2 people obviously but also if it’s just you, you can cook once and eat twice. The latter is what I do more often than not, I always cook more than I need so I can enjoy it the next day too or pop it in the freezer. If you want to freeze them, I'd freeze them after you have formed them into balls - just place them slightly spaced out on a baking sheet in the freezer and once frozen, take them off the baking sheet and put in a freezer bag or container. Then when you want to use them, you just cook from frozen giving them an extra couple of minutes to cook. Make sure your batches aren't too big as you cook them as they will bring the temperature of the water down that bit more being frozen. Enjoy!

Ricotta
You want to get the best ricotta you can as the slightly more expensive stuff has less water in it and water is the enemy of good gnudi. If you have too much liquid they will disintegrate, so it’s important to get as much of the liquid out as possible and starting with a good quality ricotta is going to make your life easier. If after you’ve drained the ricotta you can't scoop it into your hands and gently roll it into a ball, drain it until you can. If your ricotta is watery, the chilling is even more important.

Spinach
Opt for baby spinach as you don’t want the thick stems of normal spinach. If you can only find quite tough mature spinach, don’t panic, just strip the leaves from the stems and make sure you wilt it fully to get rid of any toughness.

Alternative measurements
In case this is helpful for the gnudi:

60 g plain flour (2oz is a little under ½ cup)

28 g parmesan finely grated (1oz is around ½ cup, light packed)

Here’s the step by step to show you what to do: