Rolling seasoned ricotta balls in semolina and leaving them uncovered overnight in the fridge creates pillowy gnudi with a thin semolina skin.

Cooking the gnudi across two batches makes these fragile dumplings easier to handle and less likely to break.

Using a spoonful of reserved cooking water helps create a silky, emulsified butter sauce.

I, like so many others, fell head-over-pillowy-balls-of-cheese in love with gnudi at the Spotted Pig in NYC, where Chef April Bloomfield made them famous. Jamie Oliver’s version in his new book, Jamie Oliver’s Comfort Food, is much like his friend Bloomfield’s, but with a few personal touches.

Nutmeg-laced rounds of ricotta and Parmesan cheeses are rolled in semolina, then left largely to their own devices. They sit uncovered in the fridge for at least 8 hours to form a skin, and then boil unprotected by the pasta armor the combo usually wears, resulting in bursting, creamy dumplings. If clouds were made of cheese, and naughty, they’d be gnudi.…