Roman style gnocchi
This is my grandma's recipes. When my sister and I were little we used to help her cutting the semolina mixture into disks. We were eating half of it raw while we were cutting it.
1-1/2 cups + 3 Tbsp. finely ground semolina
7 cups milk
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup freshly grated Italian parmesan
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
For the topping:
1/2 cup parmesan
2 Tbsp. butter
1. In a nonstick pan put the milk and the nutmeg. Warm it up at a medium temperature until it starts to simmer.
2. Pour the semolina a little bit at the time using a wire whisk When the semolina is well combined with the milk substitute the whisk with a wooden spoon and stir constantly for 10 min. The batter will thicken and it will be hard to mix it so you have to be careful not to burn it.
3. Remove the pan from the stove add the egg yolks, the butter and the parmesan.
4. Wet a smooth surface with water and pour the mixture over it. Using a plastic rolling pin or even a glass to flatten the batter to 1/2 inch thickness. Let it cool.
5. Once cooled, cut the semolina mixture into round pieces using a glass about 1 1/2 inches wide Dip it first into a little bowl of water to avoid the gnocchi stick to the glass. As you cut it you'll have some pieces left, you roll them out again and until you use all the mixture. Makes about 60 gnocchi.
6. Preheat the oven to 400°.
7. In the mean time grease a baking dish with a generous amount of butter. Place the gnocchi on the sheet on rows slightly overlapping each other.
8. Dot each disk with a little bit of butter and bake for approximately 15 - 20 minutes.
9. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the gnocchi with the grated parmesan.
10. Cook under a grill (broiler) until the gnocchi starts to turn golden brown on top.
11. Serve immediately
This dish can be prepared hours ahead. Just place the un-baked gnocchi on a cooking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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