Personal validation: the Roman Gnocchi do taste as good as they look. Made with your own little hands in your own little kitchen, they will end up looking EXACTLY like this photo. Except, you know, without the apron and the pretty dishes. Well, maybe in judy's kitchen, it will end up looking like this photo.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/scan0003-1.jpg
(image from The Food of Italy, recipes by Sophie Braimbridge and Jo Glynn, photographs by Chris L. Jones. Whitecap Books.)
Phase I was simply enjoying them as the recipe was written (see link). The semolina thickened within 3 minutes, but I cooked it for the full 10 minutes since I've never cooked this flour before. At 10 minutes, the dough had pulled into a ball at the center of the large non-stick high-sided skillet and then smoothed out when I added the yolk mixture.
Only problem? I should have used a whisk instead of a silicon spatula to add dry to wet. I dumped in the dry semolina too fast into the hot milk and some clumps never dissolved.
Spreading it on the cookie sheet was like working with polenta (grits) to make lasagna sheets, only this was thicker (based on the photo). I didn't even bother flipping over the dough when it cooled. Just used a biscuit cutter dipped in a bowl of ice water. When cut from around the edges, the gnocchi popped right out of the cutter. Near the center of the spread, it was still a bit tacky and I had to push each gnocchi out.
We tried eating the Italian Way. Really, we tried. I plated 3 gnocchi on our dish, as shown in the photo. Moderation in all things. Dine with a continental flair. What resulted was that I put 3 gnocchi on my dish...3 times. Which nationality covets Gluttony?
By the way, this would definitely work as a do-ahead dish as the little beauties reheated with no degradation. However, for appearance sake, if you're not planning on serving a sauce on top, hold off on the cheese/cream topping until the actual baking. Cheesy, golden-brown edges steal my heart every time.
Phase II was reheated baked gnocchi (half power for 30 seconds) covered with a sauce of hot sautéed porcini mushrooms, tons of caramelized onions and shallots, a smidge of sautéed garlic, the last of the dry Martini Rossi vermouth, a smoodge of "Better than Broth" Beef concentration (there, but for the lack of a jar of demiglaze in the frig, go I) and a mixture of heavy cream and half/half. Über-rich, so we enjoyed a vinegary salad with it.
Phase III: I still have the "leftover" pieces from cutting out the circles, without the final cream/cheese topping. Not sure what to do with those, but whatever it is, I'm sure it will be good. I have a chunky pureed fennel-tomato soup in the frig...thinking about adding them as dumplings.
Final analysis: Not as light as ricotta gnocchi, yet not as heavy as potato gnocchi, Goldi Lockazetti would have said, "These are justa right."
Molto Bene.
http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=118690
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/scan0003-1.jpg
(image from The Food of Italy, recipes by Sophie Braimbridge and Jo Glynn, photographs by Chris L. Jones. Whitecap Books.)
Phase I was simply enjoying them as the recipe was written (see link). The semolina thickened within 3 minutes, but I cooked it for the full 10 minutes since I've never cooked this flour before. At 10 minutes, the dough had pulled into a ball at the center of the large non-stick high-sided skillet and then smoothed out when I added the yolk mixture.
Only problem? I should have used a whisk instead of a silicon spatula to add dry to wet. I dumped in the dry semolina too fast into the hot milk and some clumps never dissolved.
Spreading it on the cookie sheet was like working with polenta (grits) to make lasagna sheets, only this was thicker (based on the photo). I didn't even bother flipping over the dough when it cooled. Just used a biscuit cutter dipped in a bowl of ice water. When cut from around the edges, the gnocchi popped right out of the cutter. Near the center of the spread, it was still a bit tacky and I had to push each gnocchi out.
We tried eating the Italian Way. Really, we tried. I plated 3 gnocchi on our dish, as shown in the photo. Moderation in all things. Dine with a continental flair. What resulted was that I put 3 gnocchi on my dish...3 times. Which nationality covets Gluttony?
By the way, this would definitely work as a do-ahead dish as the little beauties reheated with no degradation. However, for appearance sake, if you're not planning on serving a sauce on top, hold off on the cheese/cream topping until the actual baking. Cheesy, golden-brown edges steal my heart every time.
Phase II was reheated baked gnocchi (half power for 30 seconds) covered with a sauce of hot sautéed porcini mushrooms, tons of caramelized onions and shallots, a smidge of sautéed garlic, the last of the dry Martini Rossi vermouth, a smoodge of "Better than Broth" Beef concentration (there, but for the lack of a jar of demiglaze in the frig, go I) and a mixture of heavy cream and half/half. Über-rich, so we enjoyed a vinegary salad with it.
Phase III: I still have the "leftover" pieces from cutting out the circles, without the final cream/cheese topping. Not sure what to do with those, but whatever it is, I'm sure it will be good. I have a chunky pureed fennel-tomato soup in the frig...thinking about adding them as dumplings.
Final analysis: Not as light as ricotta gnocchi, yet not as heavy as potato gnocchi, Goldi Lockazetti would have said, "These are justa right."
Molto Bene.
http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=118690