In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, the 1/4 cup of Parmigiano, the egg, butter and nutmeg. Sprinkle 1 cup of the flour over the ricotta mixture and fold it in. Dust the dough lightly with more flour and shape into a ball. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to a rope and cut it into 36 pieces. Gently roll the pieces into balls and transfer to a floured baking sheet.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, boil the gnudi until tender and cooked through, about 6 minutes; drain. Add the gnudi to the skillet and stir gently to coat with the sauce. Cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Spoon the gnudi and sauce into bowls. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with cheese and serve with the pesto below. ENJOY!

Basil-Walnut Pesto

Place the walnuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until coarsely chopped, about 10 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper and process until mixture resembles a paste, about 1 minute. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly blended. Add the Parmesan and process a minute more.

*Use pesto immediately or store in a tightly sealed jar or air-tight plastic container, covered with a thin layer of olive oil (this seals out the air and prevents the pesto from oxidizing, which would turn it an ugly brown color). It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.