Casoncelli
Intermediate
Semolina Gnocchi / Gnocchi di Semolina
One night in the Alto Adige region of Italy, I ordered gnocchi di semolina, and the waiter brought me a plateful of succulent little disks swimming in butter and topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
The whole affair had been quickly passed under the broiler to give the gnocchi a crisp crust.
I was so enamored of their delicate flavor that I slipped the waiter a few euro and off he went in a flash to retrieve the recipe from the chef.
| Difficulty | Serves |
|---|---|
| Easy | 6-8 |
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 7 tbs unsalted butter
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 cup + tbs coarse grind semolina flour
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Sauce To pour over gnocchi before baking
- 8 tbs unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- sprinkle grated nutmeg
Directions
- Lightly brush a clean work surface with olive oil.
- To make the gnocchi, in a large saucepan, combine the milk, 3 tablespoons of the butter, the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to just under a boil
- Add the semolina in a steady stream, stirring all the while with a wooden spoon so no lumps form. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick, looks like cooked Cream of Wheat, and starts to come away from the sides of the pan, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, the egg, and cheese. . Stir vigorously to blend.
- Turn the mixture out onto the oiled pan and let cool for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a large casserole dish.
- Place a sheet of oiled wax paper over the dough and roll the dough out with a rolling pin to an even thickness. Remove the wax paper and cut out disks with a floured l-inch cookie cutter.
- Arrange the disks in the casserole dish overlapping them slightly. Gather the dough scraps, roll out, and cut out more disks; add these to the baking dish.
- In a small pan, melt the butter. Pour it over the gnocchi and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until hot, then run the dish under the broiler to brown the cheese.
- Serve at once.
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