A wonderful and simple gnocchi dish can be made by saucing the gnocchi with just sage, butter and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. With a vegetable peeler or the slicing slide of a box grater, shave the ricotta into think shards. Place the shards, without pressing them together, in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. In a large skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the sage and stir for 2 minutes. Add the stock and cream and bring to a boil. Season with pepper to taste and remove from the heat. While you prepare the gnocchi, bring the salted water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Cook and drain the gnocchi. Add the gnocchi to the sage sauce. Stir over low heat with a wooden spoon until the gnocchi are coated with sauce and heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the Parmiagiano-Reggiano and pepper to taste. Transfer to shallow bowls, scatter the shaved ricotta over the gnocchi, and serve immediately. Note: Ricotta salata is a smooth, firm, pure white sheep’s milk cheese imported from Italy. Ricotta affumicata is a lightly smoked version of the same cheese. Both are available in cheese and specialty stores and Italian grocers.