Gnocchi alla Romana

Do you love cheese with a passion?

If so, let’s get started!

Gnocchi alla romana is delicious! They are exactly the right thing to eat when you want to chill out in front of a movie.

Ingredients:

250g  semolina flour
1l milk
2 egg yolks
100-200ml grated parmesan cheese
Butter, onions and salt

1. Put the milk and the semolina in a heated pan. When the mixture is ready, it will be thick with a porridge like consistency.

2.  Add the egg yolks, a knob of butter, a pinch of salt and stir well.

3.  Pour the mixture onto a flat surface, preferably on baking paper.

4. Flatten into a large rectangle, about 1 cm thick.

5. When it has cooled down, cut out circles with a cookie cutter (grease the edges so nothing sticks).

6. Put the semolina circles into a buttered ovenproof dish. Add some well cooked onions, sprinkle the cheese over this and pour some cream on top at the end.

7. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, and bake until it’s nice and golden.

Its comfort food disguised as an elegant dish of semolina and cheese ‘gratinee’. Eat with a bottle of red wine and you are good to go!

Gnocchi alla Ciociaria

Does your mind go blank as to what to prepare for dinner? Don’t worry here is something for you to drool over!

You will need: pancetta, porcini, garlic, onion, celery, carrots, parsley and sausage.

1. Heat the olive oil over a high heat until almost smoking. Then add the pancetta, porcini, garlic, onion, celery, carrots, parsley and sausage.

2. Cook over a high heat until the sausage is a little browned and the vegetables are tender.

3. Add half a glass of red wine. When it has evaporated, put the tomatoes and the pepper in the pan. Mix it all together and simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in a large pan of boiling salted water, for about 2-3 minutes, until they rise to the surface.

5. Let them fry in a pan with butter (see photo above).

6. Once the sauce is nice and thick, put the gnocchi in a plate and cover with the sauce.

7. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve.

Gnochetti with asparagus & gorgonzola sauce

In Rome all mighty, the picturesque scenery is a delight for the eyes.

However, walking around in a timeless city such as this one  comes with its pains and blisters. When that comes up, it is time to stop and have a bite.

Between la Piazza del Popolo and la Piazza di Spagna, you’ll find:

– A classy Italian ambiance, which will make you relive Audrey Hepburn’s “Roman Holiday”.

–  Nice restaurants and coffee shops. (See next posts for addresses and directions!)

These two facts make it the perfect place to chill. That is exactly what we did, and that is where I come across the most amazing/ surprising dish ever.

I got the recipe: Here it is!

– Gnochetti with asparagus and gorgonzola cheese –

1. Cook the gnocchi in a large pan of boiling salted water, for about 2-3 minutes, until they rise to the surface.

2. Put the onions, parsley and garlic in a frying pan with the olive oil.   After about 5 minutes, the onions should be tender and ready.  Reduce heat to medium.

3. Add the gnocchi to the onions in the frying pan . After a minute or so, put the gorgonzola and asparagus. Leave it to cook for 3 minutes and toss gently.

3. Add a little salt and pepper. When you are done, the sauce should be nice and thick, and the gnocchi well coated.

4. Put the cooked gnocchi in a dish. Tadaah, it’s ready!

Tip: You can add a little  grated Parmesan cheese on top. As I said before, it makes all the effort even more worth it.

Gnocchi Al Pomodoro

At Lawson Dodd, we love Italy and we love Gnocchi. I just came back from an Easter trip in Rome and I utterly enjoyed the food. I brought back some recipes straight from la mamma Italia to share with you.

Gnocchi al Pomodoro is the simplest thing ever. The sauce is easy to make and  tastes great. What else?

For the Pomodoro sauce, you need:  Passata (tomato puree), onions, olive oil, basil, salt & pepper.

1. Put the onions in a frying pan with the olive oil. After about 5 minutes, add the passata and basil leaves. It already starts smelling heavenly good. Add a little salt and pepper, and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes. When you are done, the sauce should be nice and thick.

2. Slice little bits of mozzarella cheese, it will come in handy at the very end.

2. Cook the gnocchi in a large pan of boiling salted water, for about 2-3 minutes, until they rise to the surface.

3. Put the cooked gnocchi in a dish and cover it with the tomato sauce. Add the mozzarella cheese and serve straight away. A dish is always best when hot!

Tip: You can add a little  grated Parmesan cheese on top. Makes all the effort even more worth it.

Shaping gnocchi @ Le Cordon Bleu

Here comes one, here comes all.

As I said earlier, Chef Loic Malfait taught me plenty of wonderful things about Italian gastronomy and gnocchi. In a series of little clips, you will become as knowledgeable as I have become. … I am joking of course, but I do feel the exciting topics (and tips) we covered could make you shine at the dinner table.

Make sure you don’t miss anything. It’s always great to learn from the best.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby present to you Chef Loic Malfait of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School!

Sunday roast with gnocchi on the side

Further to my previous post, I’m very pleased to announce that I have now made Nigella’s rapid roastini and they lived up to the hype! Even my boyfriend, a Gordon Ramsey wannabe who was very sceptical about the idea when I suggested it as an accompaniment to our Sunday roast, was well and truly impressed.

Here’s what I did:

1. Bought a pack of Del’Ugo potato gnocchi.
2. Heated up some oil in my lovely big and new Tefal pan (and I’d actually also used the pan to crisp up the skin of my roast, so the oil was deliciously flavourful by the time I added the gnocchi). Once the oil was hot I added the gnocchi.
3. I let them brown on one side, then tossed them around a bit in the pan to get all over colour – about 2-3 mins.
4. To finish I aged butter and salt to taste.

Conclusion: the perfect cheats roast potatoes for when you’re in a rush (and a good option when not in a rush for the slightly lazy, but taste-loving cook). I’ll definitely do it again!

Rapid Roastini

When talking to a friend about my new found devotion for gnocchi last weekend, she proclaimed that I must try Nigella’s roast potato gnocchi! My puzzled expression resulted in her telling me that they are the best thing since, well, roast potatoes or regular gnocchi I suppose.

As soon as I got home I was straight on Google to find out more…

It turns out that ‘rapid roastini’ or quick ‘roast’ potatoes are simply shop bought gnocchi (more on the brands available in the supermarkets and our reviews and recommendations on them at a later date) which are fried in a pan or roasted in the oven (an area of considerable online debate is appears).

The basic recipe for rapid roastini’ is as follows:

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250g/9oz ready-made or leftover potato gnocchi

Preparation method

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan.
2. When the oil is hot, put the gnocchi in, making sure you separate them as you do so, and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown.
3. Turn them over and give them another 3-4 minutes on the other side, or until browned on both sides.
4. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper, then sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve.

(Note the difference from German Schupfnudeln which is similar but requires the gnocchi to be made from scratch and are longer than traditionally round gnocchi – something that I’m sure we’ll have a go at some point in the future).

Maggiedon says “These little babies may just change your life!” and I for one am keen to find if that’s true, particularly because the pictures of these golden brown balls that are light and fluffy on the inside, yet divinely crispy on the outside have well and truly got my mouth watering!  I have therefore taken up the challenge to make these roastini myself this weekend. Update and photos from me to follow and in the mean time you can watch Nigella.

Only one question remains: what shall I serve my rapid roastini with? Free range Otway pork chops like fellow food blogger Sarah Speedy or with roast chicken instead of roast potatoes like Stephen?