So day two of our Italian recipes and I must say, another great success. In the past I have to admit to huge failures when making gnocchi, any recipe that has potato in goes haywire, any made with ricotta or semolina I seem to have great success with and these little pillows of tastiness are a huge success.
This recipe was also taken from ‘Cooking with Italian Grandmothers‘ but the Gorgonzola sauce that I made to go with it is a Catherine Fulvio recipe and I will blog that separately as I feel it can be used in so many ways as can this fantastic gnocchi dish. You can serve these as a main meal, we had ours as I have already mentioned with a gorgeous Gorgonzola sauce and salad, but they would also look great served as a starter and maybe a mixture of dressings for your guests to choose and pour. Hubby and I thought they would be great with a pesto or a tomato based sauce, so versatile and so yummy.
They were so simple to make and I must say a lot of fun, I love it when a recipe comes along and throws a new way of making things at you and this is one of those recipes, setting the semolina in a tray and then cutting the gnocchi out with a pastry cutter reminded me of making scones, when they cook and the kitchen is filled with the heavenly smells of cheese melting, they even look like scones, all very odd but totally delicious.
One of the great things about this dish is that you can prepare them in advance, I laid mine out on a baking tray covered in parchment and then just left them on the side until I was ready to cook them, just make sure you cover them over with a clean tea towel or parchment to stop them drying out, then just pop them in the oven and 30 minutes or so later you have these fluffy, light and fun gnocchi to serve with your chosen sauce or even maybe as a side dish instead of potatoes.
So if pasta making is not for you, why not give these a try instead, so much simpler and quicker and you will be amazed by the results.
Buon appetito
2 pints of milk
2 to 3 teaspoons of salt
7 ounces (200g) semolina flour
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (divided into two 1/2 cups)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (15g) butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Heat the milk and salt in a medium saucepan set over a medium heat. When the milk starts to simmer, slowly sprinkle in the semolina flour, whisking constantly to make sure that you do not get any lumps. Once all the semolina has been added, reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to whisk for 7 to 10 minutes, until the batter has become thick and velvety. Mine only took a few minutes and I was worried that I had undercooked it, but it was fine.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan, the eggs and the butter.
Pour the batter into a large, shallow baking dish, (I used a large baking tray and it was just perfect, the non-stick really helped when cutting out the gnocchi), spreading it out to make a layer of even thickness, roughly about 1/2 and inch thick. Set aside for an hour to cool, I left mine on the side until fairly cool and then popped it into the fridge. You want the batter to be nice and firm.
Cut the semolina into gnocchi using a 2 inch pastry cutter or glass, dip into water between each press to prevent the dough from sticking. Lay the gnocchi on a parchment lined baking tray, making sure that you leave about 1/2 an inch between each one, this allows the edges to caramelize nicely.
Sprinkle the tops of the gnocchi with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan and breadcrumbs.
Bake at 400F, 200C for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown, slightly puffed and crispy around the edges.
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