Italian Feast Part 2 - Souffléed Gnocchi

Welcome back for part two of our Italian-style feast. Last week we covered the first course, Escarole & Edamame Salad! This week we'll take a look at a souffléed gnocchi. We've always traditionally thought all gnocchi was made of potato. But this Roman-style recipe doesn't call for any potatoes. Instead we'll use semolina flour!

At first it was hard to see how this was going to work. We ended up chilling ours a little longer than the recipe called for and cut ours into squares instead of rounds. This was because transferring these was a little tricky. The trick is to make sure they are thick enough to set up.

I don't think either of us expected to taste what we got. It was truly unique and delicious. It tastes more like a souffle than it does gnocchi. The only thing I can begin to compare it to was the stuff in crock-pot mac & cheese without the macaroni. It's soft, delicate, smooth, and cheesy. It was truly a treat and totally worth the time.

Speaking of time, plan ahead for this one. The recipe called for 2 hours to prepare this dish start to finish but you can do a lot a head of time. Pretty much everything up until baking it in the oven can be done the day before. Enjoy!

Check out!
Part 1 - Escarole & Edamame Salad 
Part 3 - Anchovy & Rosemary Roasted Lamb with Salsa Verde



Souffléed Gnocchi

Serves 8
Active Time: 35 mins
Start-Finish: 2 hrs

• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup semolina (3 oz; sometimes labeled "semolina flour")
• 3 large eggs
• 7 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2-inch round cookie cutter - we just did squares
• 2-qt shallow baking dish

1. Bring milk with 3/4 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a 2-3 qt heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add semolina in a slow stream, whisking, then simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, 12 minutes (mixture will be very stiff). Remove from heat and stir in eggs 1 at a time, then stir in 6 tablespoons cheese and 3 tablespoons butter. Spread into a 1/2-inch thick slab on an oiled baking sjeet using a lightly oiled rubber spatula, then chill, uncovered, until cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
2. Cut out rounds from gnocchi with cookie cutter dipped in cool water (incorporating scraps as you work) and gently transfer rounds (they will be very soft), slightly overlapping, to buttered baking dish. Chill gnocchi, uncovered, 1 hour.
3. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
4. Melt remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and brush over gnocchi, then sprinkle with remaining tablespoon cheese. Bake in upper third of oven 10 minutes, then switch dish to lower third of oven and continue to bake until gnocchi are slightly puffed and lightly browned, about 10 minutes more. Let stand 5 minutes before serving

Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Italian Kitchen Magazine Winter/Spring 2011