Artusi’s April: Gnocchi alla Romana

As Easter normally falls in April, Artusi‘s reliable suggestions for this month’s Italian menu consist of plenty of dishes that you could traditionally find on an Easter table, including the ones that Italians call “magro” or lean, in other words, fish or vegetables (but no meat), the diet to be followed on Good Friday.

Among a list of some of my favourite Spring dishes such as artichoke tart, fava beans served raw, Easter lamb, chocolate gelato and the Stiacciata, a traditional Easter cake from Livorno, is the irresistible recipe for Gnocchi alla Romana.

Quite different from the traditional potato gnocchi that many are used to, these are made from semolina flour and are considerably easier to make if one is not as skilled as a northern Italian nonna at rolling gnocchi off the tines of a fork.

For a recent dinner party, I couldn’t go past the idea of preparing these Gnocchi alla Romana, or Roman style gnocchi. This is the perfect item on a dinner party menu as you can prepare them well in advance and just pop them in the oven when guests arrive – and they are always a hit. Serve a small portion of these gnocchi as an entree, or make them into a beautiful light lunch, perhaps with a nice green salad. If you want to make this more substantial, you can add a bechamel sauce over the top of these before they go in the oven.

Here is Artusi’s recipe, which he begins with a note requesting that if you like his recipe for Gnocchi alla Romana, make a toast to him if he is still around or a requiescat if he’s pushing up the daisies (in Italian, the literal translation is “tucking in the cabbages,” which I think is more appropriate for Artusi).

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Gnocchi alla Romana

Artusi notes in this recipe that at the table there should never be less than the number of Graces or more than the number of Muses. If you’re dinner party is around the number of Muses – 9 – then you should double the recipe. When making this recipe, I’ve found his recipe the right proportions for four people as an entree. 

  • 2 eggs
  • 150 grams semolina flour
  • 500 ml milk
  • 40 grams of a good melting cheese grated or diced, such as asiago
  • 50 grams butter, diced
  • 40 grams (about a handful) of grated Parmesan cheese

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the flour until well combined. Slowly add the milk until you have a smooth mixture and then add the melting cheese. Place the mixture in a medium saucepan (1 litre capacity) and, over medium heat, stir constantly until you obtain a very thick mixture, like thick porridge or oatmeal, about 5 minutes. Turn this out onto a damp cookie tray (sprayed or sprinkled with some water) and, with wet hands (or a wet spatula), pat the mixture down to a thickness of about 1cm using the palm of your hand. Allow to cool completely.

Grease an oven proof casserole pan with a third of the butter. With a round cookie cutter (or even a glass) cut out the gnocchi into rounds and place them in rows, slightly overlapping, in the oven proof pan. Tuck a few cubes of butter between gnocchi and top with the rest of the butter and the Parmesan cheese. Bake at 200C (390F) for about 20 minutes until golden. Serve hot.

Comments

  1. Sarah says:

    I’ve never had these, but they keep showing up in things I’ve been reading these days. Think it’s time for them to make an appearance on my dinner table!

    • Emiko says:

      Do let me know how they go if you try these out! They’re not like the potato gnocchi most people know – but they are delicious and so easy to make!

      • sally says:

        im going to make these but omg i cant figure out the grams!? how much is the 40 grams of melting cheese?! i need it in measuring cups please ive searched google i have no idea how many cups please answer since you have made these before

        • Emiko says:

          Hi Sally, there are plenty of gram to cup conversion websites out there, all you need to do is google what you’re looking for but remember that not all ingredients have the same volume, which is why I always use weight measurements. Depending on the type of cheese you use, 40 grams is around 1/4 US cup. “Melting cheese” means any cheese that is good for cooking/melting, such as gruyere, asiago, you can even use parmesan again. Even cheddar is great. Hope this helps!

  2. Francesca says:

    I love Gnocchi alla Romana but I use semolina flour rather than normal flour, have you tried that?

    Francesca

    • Emiko says:

      Hi Francesca, yes gnocchi alla Romana are always made out of semolina flour (you’ll see if you read the post that this is also made with semolina – note the brilliant yellow colour you get from it!).

  3. Francesca says:

    I should try them “all’Artusi” then. His recipe reminds me of the “gnocchi alla Parigina”, do you like them?

  4. pistachios says:

    What is the oven temperature, and do you season with salt and pepper at any point?

    • Emiko says:

      Hi! As this is a recipe from the 1800s and Artusi doesn’t mention either oven temperatures (just as well, as they were often using woodfired ovens!) or salt and pepper, I used a medium oven at around 180C/350F and I seasoned the semolina with salt – you could add more salt and pepper just before baking if you like.

  5. Garem says:

    Hi,

    I have been reading your blog, for sometime now and have tried a few recipes. The fig honey one was really simple and the honey was divine, it had so much flavour.

    I like this recipe and would like to try this, can you please suggest what can I substitute eggs with as I am a vegetarian .

    • Emiko Davies says:

      Thanks, how wonderful! Here the eggs are important for holding the mixture together and making it set enough so that you can cut shapes out. I have seen adaptions of the gnocchi alla romana recipe to avoid using eggs but they usually have milk or Parmesan cheese in them as well, which I’m guessing are no good either. I think you would need to play with the proportions of liquid to semolina so that the mixture sets well even without the eggs.

  6. Catarina says:

    Thank you Artusi and thank you Emiko! I am used to making gnocchi di patate but I had never tried alla romana (although I wanted to) until now. Easy and super fast recipe, I was expecting it to be more time consuming like polenta. Didn’t use any cheese and we still liked it very much. Can’t even imagine with the cheese…

  7. Catarina says:

    Stupid question here: is semolina the same as semolina flour? I have found semolina that it’s coarser than the other…If they cannot be used interchangeable, then should i use the coarser type for dusting pizza and the finer for making pasta dough like orecchiete?

    • Emiko Davies says:

      Not a stupid question at all! Semolina comes in usually two kinds of grain, the coarser one resembles cornmeal for polenta and is good for dusting pizza or bread, as you note. The finer one resembles flour but is distinctly pale yellow and still has a slight grain to it. Use the second one for this, for baking bread or cakes or making dough.

  8. Isa says:

    Made these last night, and although relatively quick to make and pretty looking, they don’t have much flavour. I guess this is their purpose given that no herbs are used and the only flavour is coming from the cheese. Still- I was underimpressed. Don’t mean to sound grumpy, but just thought I should share for the benefit of others.

    • Emiko Davies says:

      Thanks for your feedback. This is a classic, traditional recipe, a very humble dish of semolina, a very plain tasting ingredient — think along the lines of mashed potatoes, for example — it something that is comforting and simple in terms of flavours, so in fact something I like about this is the texture of the crust on top and the very soft centre. And because it is so simple you should always use good ingredients from the beginning and taste as you go for seasoning, but this goes without saying!

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