Gnocchi is the bees knees

I am officially addicted to home made pasta in all forms. Yes, I know this was SUPPOSED to be my carb free week filled with vegetables and fresh fruits but after eating a pizza the size of Little Italy on Tuesday I gave up...and no I do not have any will power when it comes to food. Anyway, yesterday I was doing my usual food blog browsing when I came across a particularly unique gnocchi recipe. There wasn't a single mention of potato which I had always thought was a staple gnocchi ingredient. I did some research on the history of gnocchi and found that potato gnocchi is the most popular type, but generally speaking gnocchi has nothing to do with potatoes.

After noticing that there was no tedious hand rolling involved I was sold (I learned from the last time I thought making fresh pasta was a brilliant idea). This specific type of gnocchi, Roman gnocchi, is made by spreading the dough onto sheets and cutting out the pieces, which means more time to mingle with dinner party guests and less time slaving over a hot stove, or in this case cold dough. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome as were my friends. The light texture of the parmesan infused gnocchi topped with tomato sauce had a comfort food feel with out the comfort food weight. It also made me wish I had been born as an Italian grandmother and could stay in the house all day making delicious food and repeat the word "manga" while I dish out heaping portions onto the plates of my grandchildren...maybe in another life.

Sorry about the poor photo quality, it was taken in a bit of a hungry rush

Roman Style Baked Gnocchi

Adapted from a recipe on the Dash and Bella blog

Serves 6

butter or olive oil for greasing casserole dish

4 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups semolina flour (a flour made from hard durum wheat)

1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided in half

3 eggs yolks, lightly beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs (If you can find breadcrumbs with parsley and garlic they work very well)

1. Grease a large casserole dish or baking sheet with olive oil or butter.

2. In a large saucepan, combine milk, nutmeg, salt, and butter. Bring just to a boil and then lower the heat. Slowly whisk in semolina flour. Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until it gets so thick that it's hard to stir (2-5 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and mix in 1/2 a cup of the cheese. Then quickly whisk in the egg yolks. Pour mixture into the prepared casserole dish r baking sheet and even out the surface with a spatula, creating a layer about 1/2 inch thick. 4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for anywhere between four hours to overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a large casserole dish or baking sheet (about 9x12 inches) with olive oil or butter. 5. Use a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass to cut out the gnocchi. Dip the cutter in cold water if the gnocchi start to stick.

6. Place the cut out gnocchi into the greased casserole dish. You can overlap them or just press them up close to each other. (Knead the extra scraps together and cut out more pieces to use all the dough.)

7. Mix bread crumbs and the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan in a bowl. Generously sprinkle mixture over the gnocchi.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.

9. Serve immediately with tomato sauce (see my lasagna recipe for tomato sauce instructions), bolognese sauce (see my spaghetti bolognese recipe for instructions) or by themselves with chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.