• First, line a baking dish with 3 layers of paper towels; spoon ricotta onto paper towels and let sit 20 minutes (if the ricotta is too wet, the dough won’t hold together). Then you can start on the veggies and broth.
• In a heavy bottom dutch oven or large stock pot, saute the shallots in the olive oil. After a few minutes add in the vegetables (add in the heartier ones first like carrots then after a couple minutes add in the lighter veggies like peas). Saute veggies until they start to brown and stick to the pan (5-10 minutes).
• Add in broth, apple core, parmesan rind, and parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook 15- 20 minutes until the dumplings are ready. When ready to serve, remove apple core, parmesan rind, and parsley.

for ricotta dumplings

• While the veggies cook, combine ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, and salt in a food processor; season with pepper and process until smooth. Add herbs and flour and pulse just to combine (mixture should be smooth and fairly wet). Transfer gnocchi mixture to a pastry bag fitted with ½” round tip or a large resealable plastic bag.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Reduce heat so water is simmering. If using a resealable plastic bag for gnocchi mixture, cut a ½” opening in bottom of bag. Working in 3 batches, pipe dough into pot, cutting off 1” lengths with a paring knife and letting dough drop into water. Cook until doubled in size, about 3 minutes (dumplings will float to the top when they are done). Using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to a lightly oiled baking sheet.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a skillet and add in the ricotta dumplings, browning them in batches. Cook, tossing or flipping gently, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Assembly

• You can serve this in a large baking dish or straight into shallow, individual bowls. Portion out dumplings between bowls then ladle the soup mixture over the dumplings.