Spinach Gnocchi

I just sent this recipe to a friend so I thought since I'd gone to the trouble of typing it out I'd share it with you all. It's the meal I served at a dinner party last weekend. The recipe served 8 as an accompaniment to the rack of lamb.

Spinach Gnocchi
1kg English Spinach, tough stems removed
2 large knobs of butter
1 1/2 onions, chopped finely (leave the other half an onion for the tomato sauce)
150g plain flour 300g ricotta 4 egg yolks 200g parmesan, grated Ground nutmeg Extra parmesan to serve

Wash the spinach, spin it in a salad spinner or shake it dry.
Heat a large saucepan or wok over a moderate heat and add the spinach (you may have to do it in batches). Use tongs to toss it in the pan until wilted.
Drain well in a colander, squeeze out any excess liquid and roughly chop. Heat butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook gently for 7-8 minutes or until soft Add the spinach to the frying pan with the softened onion and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
Let it cool slightly.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, sift in the flour, add the ricotta and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in the egg yolks, parmesan and a 3 or 4 pinches of nutmeg. (at this point I decided the mixture was too wet so added more flour - it was just a bit too sticky to hold it's shape in a ball, I only added about a 1.3 of a cup)
Using 2 teaspoons, shape the mixture into rounds and then place them on a lightly floured tray. Chill the gnocchi for at least an hour (I had it in the fridge for about hours - the longer the better I think)
To cook the gnocchi bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil then add the gnocchi (I cook in two batches so as not too overload the pan)
Once the rise to the surface the are cooked. Carefully scoop them out with a slotted spoon and drain well (after the second batch is cooked I throw them all back in the water and re-drain them, just to make sure they are all hot when served)
Serve gnocchi on the plate with tomato sauce on top.

Tomato sauce for gnocchi
3 garlic cloves
1/2 brown onion (keep the other half for the gnocchi)
800g tin crushed tomatoes
handful of basil leaves (add to your taste)

Chop garlic and onions and fry (with oil) until golden
Add tin tomatoes, when simmering add basil leaves and salt and pepper
Simmer until slightly reduced (or until you think it tastes OK... I cook by taste!)

I served this with a roast rack of lamb and a side salad.

So yummy, I'm hungry all over again!