Serves 4
400g fresh ricotta
300g baby spinach
1 large lemon, finely grated rind
1 egg, whisked
½ cup finely grated parmesan
½ cup plain flour
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
½ tsp chilli flakes
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
80g butter
⅓ cup fresh sage leaves
Line a fine sieve with muslin and place over a bowl. Add ricotta and cover. Place in the refrigerator and drain overnight. Discard whey. If ricotta is firm and dry you can omit this step.
Place spinach into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 1 minute or until spinach has just wilted. Drain and rinse under cold water. Using your hands, squeeze water from spinach. Finely chop and place into a large bowl. Add ricotta, lemon rind, egg, parmesan, half the flour, pine nuts, chilli and nutmeg. Stir until well combined. Roll heaped tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and place onto a large plate. Lightly coat polpettes in remaining flour.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over a high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add 6 polpettes and cook for 3-4 minutes or until balls float to surface. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large baking tray. Cook remaining polpettes.
Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and sizzling. Add sage leaves and cook for 2 minutes or until crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Continue to cook butter for 2-3 minutes or until butter turns a golden nutty colour. Pour into a jug. Transfer polpettes to serving plates. Drizzle with butter and sprinkle with sage leaves.