Gnocchi alla Romana – Comfort Food in the Form of Semolina
Welcome to the fifth instalment of my series where I test out recipes from an obscure 1990s Italian Cookbook. This time, I tested a recipe from the ‘Gnocchi & Polenta’ section: Gnocchi alla Romana:
I was excited to branch out into another section of this cookbook, and I must say, this gnocchi recipe didn’t disappoint. Aside from the parmesan, this is a relatively cheap dish, using a small amount of semolina which expands once milk is added.
Still, I made some of my own adjustments to this recipe:
- I thought 125g parmesan (almost an entire standard block) was quite excessive – I only used 50g.
- The recipe called for 1½ teaspoons of salt, which in my opinion, made it just a bit too salty. I would recommend just starting with ½ teaspoon and building this to your own taste.
- I topped the dish with some freshly chopped parsley to make it look and taste a bit more interesting.
There were also some issues with this recipe:
- The gnocchi mix is to be thickened in a hot saucepan for 10 to 15 minutes but it took me around 20 minutes at a low-medium heat.
- No tin size was mentioned in this recipe… I greased a large tin initially, but there wasn’t a lot of mixture, so I ended up using a much smaller 26×20 cm tin.
- After cutting the mixture into circles, I was left with a lot of scraps. This isn’t the sort of mix that can be re-rolled – like cookie dough – so I was left with a half pretty, half ugly tin of gnocchi.
- The recipe had very unclear oven temperature directions, calling for a ‘moderate oven’. I have provided more specific temperatures in my revised recipe down below.
- The layered gnocchi is to be cooked in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, but this took 30 mins plus for me.
FINAL RECIPE RATING: 8/10
With a few adjustments, I can easily see this relatively cheap and simple side dish becoming a family favourite:
Gnocchi alla Romana
Equipment
- 4cm round biscuit cutter
- 26x20cm roasting tin
Ingredients
- 650 ml milk
- Pinch of nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt + extra to taste
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 100 g semolina plus extra to dust.
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 50 g finely grated parmesan + extra to top
- 60 g unsalted butter melted + extra to grease
- olive oil to grease
- fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Generously grease a 26x20cm roasting tin with olive oil and set aside.
- Place the milk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then reduce the heat and gradually add the semolina, stirring constantly.
- Continue cooking over a low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered and stirring often until the mixture is very thick.
- In a small bowl, combine the egg and the parmesan before adding to the semolina mixture. Mix well.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth with a wet spatula. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until the semolina is firm.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ gas/180℃ fan and grease a 26x20cm shallow ovenproof dish with the extra butter. Scatter some semolina onto a clean work surface and release the semolina mixture on top. Using a 4cm round cutter cut the semolina and arrange in layers inside the prepared oven dish (see notes).
- Pour over the melted butter and grate over some extra parmesan. Season with some salt and pepper on top.
- Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until crisp and golden. You might want to turn it halfway through to achieve an even crust.
- Serve warm as an accompaniment to an Italian dinner party or a relaxed Sunday lunch.
Notes
- You could substitute the parmesan for a nice vintage cheddar, gruyere, or any other hard, sharp tasting cheese.
- You’ll definitely have some leftover scraps of gnocchi – place them in another greased tray or next to the uniform ones if you aren’t so fussy about presentation!
- If you don’t have a cutter to hand, you can just use the rim of a glass.
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