Recipes

Semolina Gnocchi

James Beard

Author and Educator

This classic recipe by James Beard yields tender, fluffy gnocchi.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Dash nutmeg
  • 1 cup semolina
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten

Method

Make the dough: bring the milk to a boil and season it with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour in the semolina and stir until you have a thick mixture. Then stir in the cheese, remove from heat, and stir in the beaten eggs. Pour the mixture into a buttered dish or tin, making a layer about 1/4-inch thick.

Cut the gnocchi: once the mixture has cooled, cut into rounds with a cutter about 1 ½ inches in diameter and arrange in an overlapping pattern in a fireproof dish.

Bake the gnocchi: pour a generous amount of melted butter all over the gnocchi and brown under the grill or in the oven. A few minutes before removing, sprinkle with a handful of grated cheese. When this has melted, the gnocchi are ready.

Yield

8 to 12 servings, as a side dish