Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Roman-Style Gnocchi – No Potatoes Were Harmed During the Making of This Video

Gnocchi alla Romana are as delicious, as they are virtually unknown. I feel like I’ve eaten a fair amount of Italian food, and I’ve been to Rome, but it wasn’t until late in life that I discovered these wonderful, baked semolina dumplings.

Above and beyond their exquisite texture, and great taste, I love their versatility. They’re a world-class side dish as is, but can be paired with your favorite pasta sauce, and served as an appetizer, or entrée. Rave reviews should come your way; along with lots of “But, why are these called gnocchi, again?”

For a great winter twist, you can place some sage leaves in between the gnocchi before baking them, and they’d be perfect at any holiday feast. In fact, now I’m upset I didn’t do that this time. I’m going to have to make another batch. Anyway, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 16 Roman-Style Gnocchi:
Note: I used a 2.75-inch cutter
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1 1/4 cup semolina
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (only about 1.25 ounces by weight, but if you grate it on a microplane, it will easily fill a cup)
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons melted butter for the top
more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for the top

35 comments:

nightsmusic said...

It's 9:47 in the morning here and I want them. Now!

C. Fuzzbang said...

What size Creuset is that?

Unknown said...

These look especially yummy! Thanks Chef John!

shane said...

Thank you Chef, looks fantastic and glad to see it can accompany many different courses. Cheers!

A. T. Wallace said...

This dish is baked Cream of Wheat. As such, I bet this would make a delicious breakfast item. A drizzle of maple syrup or some jam on top would probably be great.

Toni Baloney said...

I come here for inspiration, and I always find it. Thanks.

Roberto said...

Wow, an easy way to make Gnocchi. I lived in Italy for many years and made Gnocchi in the traditional way; i.e. little grape sized dumplings marked with the back of a fork. But only once in a while since they're such a PITA unless you're an Italian Nonna. I hope you don't mind me picking a few nits but you might want to check Google Translate for the proper pronunciation of Gnocchi.

Unknown said...

Nice way to use semolina.Have you got non fattening recipeas as well with semolina ?

Unknown said...

Thanks Chef John, those look good. Actually they look like another favorite dish of mine, Fried Mush; which is fried corn meal. Or as those city folks call it, Polenta. You pretty much do the same thing, only with corn meal. I'll definitely try this. Hope you're having a good day!

Unknown said...

Dear chef John, I'm gluten sensitive and would like to know if I can substitute wheat semolina with corn semolina or even rice semolina

SFO La Crosse said...

Will this work with P.A.N.?

mekman said...

I want a freakishly small wooden spoon! Where can I get one please?

Uncommonsense said...

"This dish is baked Cream of Wheat."

Wrong. Farina and Semolina cannot be swapped out. Farina is far to fine to make a dish like this nor would you make pasta from Farina. Semolina can only come from Durum wheat while Farina comes from any wheat but Durum.

Unknown said...

Chrissy tested. Chrissy approved!

marenamoo said...

What brand and size is the pan?

Chris K. said...

Alright. So what's the definitive pronunciation of gnocchi? Is it "knee-AH-kee" or "knee-OH-kee?" Discuss amongst y'selves.

marenamoo said...

What brand and size is the pan?

Reserve4Todd said...

The thing I like about Chef John's recipes is that my end-product looks identical to the video. This dish is no exception-- a truly beautiful result.
I made this last night as a side for rack of lamb. Really a great dish.
Stirring was a pain, though. I could only stir for two minutes, then my wife stirred for a minute, and then we just switched-out at one minute intervals. The mixture seemed a tiny bit lumpy, but the end product was perfect.
I recommend keeping the layers as exposed to a surface as possible; my center was triple stacked, and the lack of browning in that spot made that part of the product bland in comparison to the rest of the dish.
I will definitely make this again.

my family health said...

i m fun of recipes and i love it i will try, i try sometimes in my blog , nice day :)

Thane said...

Oh. My. God: creamy, crispy, tender, parmesan, buttery. It's what polenta wants to be, and what pasta never can be. Paired perfectly with some grass-fed beef meatballs and red sauce (not store bought!)

Thank yo so much for this recipe...I love gnocchi but have developed an allergy to potatoes. This recipe is actually better!

michael said...

Dear Chef John

In about 10 days I have some good friends coming to dinner. One of their children has a very horrible allergic reaction to eggs. I mean, really, it's eggs-traordinarily bad.

Anyway, I was thinking of egg-citing recipes for my friends and this beautiful-looking (and no-doubt, tasting) Gnocchi, and, also, the Cauliflower Pizza crust came to mind. Unfortunately , both use eggs. I have seen that a flax meal / water mix may be used as an egg-substitute, but, especially for the gnocchi, i can't help but feel this would change the colour - for the worse! For the pizza crust, it could be OK.

So I was wondering - for cases such as these where eggs have to be avoided in order to avoid the emergency room - what good egg substitutes do you recommend for the gnocchi / cauli pizza crust?

Unknown said...

I made these and they turned out fantastic! However, I feel like there's not enough milk as the post whisk wooden spoon action was too quick as it thickened really fast.
When I make it again I'm going to use 4 cups/1 litre of milk instead. Might turn out smoother.

Thanks for the recipe and method Chef John! Love your stuff.

Mike said...

Are my ears playing tricks on me, or at 0:14 did I here you say these are teppanyaki?

Stark Radio said...

I love your site and your videos. I can't wait to make these tomorrow.

Happy Holidays! Please keep up the good work!

serenity.blake said...

These turned out wonderfully! I paired it with a simple tomato sauce drizzled over top and a few basil leaves baked in between. Yummy :) thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

damp hands can't dry things.

Unknown said...

What was the red spice used atop the gnocchi after you put on the butter? I didn't catch the name. Or, I couldn't figure out how to spell it from the pronunciation I could find.

Anonymous said...

Chef John, Chef Jrot here. 7 to 10 minutes is also what some refer to as a female dog. Made it though. Tasted great. Dopuble layered, but should not have. Still good. Just extra oven time.

iliveinq8 said...

You are the best!!!!! I keep doing this recipe :) Samolina Gnocchi is way easier than flour and potato ones :) and might be slightly more yummy!

Thank you!

JeremyJ said...

Guess what Im having for my supper?! Thank you!

flanneursfood said...

Do you use fine semolina or coarse semolina. Looking forward to another of your wonderful recipes.

Unknown said...

It's a lovely recipe. I was wondering if you could also put the standard metric grams and millimeters in the measurements so us in most of the world could make it easier.

Tali said...

YUMMM

ADC said...

I've made several of Chef John's recipes and last night I made these to go along with roast beef (I didn't want to do Yorkshire pudding) and it was stunning! So easy and so delicious. A nice change of pace and nice compliment to the mashed potatoes and vegetable sides.

les said...

whats the Red Spice ???