‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ #45 Award-winning Semolina Gnocchi
*# * An Award-winning* * * Recipe * ……
Mmmmmm….. a
HuGE advert placed
in the Daily Times
by a
local ‘
Healthfood Emporium ’, offered a generous prize and
dinner at one of The
City’s most exciting and avante garde restaurants, for the *# * winning$$$ * * * recipe *, submitted to ‘ Healthfood
Emporium’s ’ competition….
Always ready
for an epicurean challenge, I rose
to the occasion. Excited as “……‘MAVIS ” in “ The FIVE RAND STORE ” …(See previous blog #44), I KNEW I had
the *# * winning$$$ * * * recipe * !
Now, this just happ’d to be a few years ago, not toooo long ago, but as
‘
Healthfood Emporium ’ was not yet au
fait with what then was a
very new concept: “the email” , it was
required, to fax them a faximile - a
copy of your *# * winning$$$ * * * recipe *, on PAPER!
This I did..yes! I transcribed my *# * winning$$$ * * * recipe * onto my laptop, clear and concise, and then
dutifully faxed it to the pertinent fax number, together with stylized photos
too. I waited for a reply …and waited weeks , and got none!
And then it was upon us!... THE
DATE that the winner would be
announced - that cut-off date, but without me! ....yes! – and STILL
nothing heard , no response from ‘ Healthfood Emporium ’.
Being who I am, I called-up, I telephoned to enquire if, by chance I was that winner – the winner of that competition?
GOSH NO !...never received
my entry, said She , ‘She’ being the “Messenger”
of accepting fax messages and entering those entries to
that competition.
Oh dear, quel horreur! And in my hand I held
proof from my fax machine, proof of said *# * winning$$$ * * * recipe *, said competition entry, having reached that correct destination!SPOOF!
Ego almost destroyed, life goes on, and‘ Healthfood Emporium ’ invited MyM and
Me to their *Gala
Dinner* *, the prize giving….
I knew I had
the *# * winning$$$ * * * recipe *, and they just never had the good fortune to
experience it.
So may I present to you, an *# * AWARD-winning 000* * * recipe * ……
Semolina Gnocchi
Served
with a chilled, fresh chopped tomato, basil and garlic, and olive oil salsa.
This is a show piece!
This is a most unexpected texture to the palate…this is a talking point at ANY
dinner party. This is EASY!
Served as a starter, or as a main course…they’ll all want more!
 |
PREPARATION -THE 'MISE en PLACE' FOR SEMOLINA GNOCCHI
|
INGREDIENTS:
1 litre (4 cups) fullcream milk
250 g semolina
50g butter
3 extra-large eggs (not Jumbo eggs)
100g grated Parmesan cheese
(or 50g Pecorino/50g Parmesan)
Plus:
50g extra parmesan for sprinkling over
20g butter cut into small pieces to dot over, before baking
Salt to taste (about ¼ teaspoon)
 |
| SETTING OUT THE INGREDIENTS |
 |
1L MILK + 3 EGGS + 50g BUTTER + 1/4 tsp SALT +
100g GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE + 250g SEMOLINA |
* This quantity yields 36 pieces.
METHOD:
 |
COOK THE SEMOLINA FOR 15 MINUTES TILL THICK ,
SO THAT A SPOON WILL STAND UP STRAIGHT. |
1) In a heavy
based saucepan, bring milk to the boil, and immediately lower the heat to a
simmer.
2) Slowly sprinkle
in the semolina, while stirring all the time with a wooden spoon.
3) Add about 20g
of the butter
4) Continue to
stir the semolina continuously, over a low heat for 15 minutes, until very thick,
making sure there are no lumps, and be careful not to let it stick to the
bottom of the saucepan.
5) Take the pan
off the heat, with a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs, one at a time.
6) Add the
remaining 30g butter
7) Add the grated
cheese and the salt, and mix well with a wooden spoon (a good arm exercise!).
8) Then prepare a
flat surface such as a clean counter top, or chopping board, marble slab, etc:
just sprinkle with a little water just to dampen surface.
9) Pour the cooked
semolina from saucepan onto damp surface, and with a slightly dampened palm (flat
of your hand, or with a flat spatula too) pat it out, flatten the mixture until
it approximately 1½cm thick. Leave to cool.
10) When cold, use
a round cookie/pastry cutter, cut into rounds of about 5cm diameter. Dip the cutter in a little oil so as not to stick
when cutting into the semolina dough (I use a pastry cutter with a fluted edge)
11) With an oiled
flat knife/metal spatula, gently slide the cut rings of semolina gnocchi off
the work surface and place in concentric circles, slightly overlapping, in the
baking dish.
12) Don’t waste
the off-cuts, just re-shape into a solid dough again, same thickness, to cut
some more!
 |
ADD EGGS, ONE AT A TIME, THEN REMAINING BUTTER,
GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE, AND SALT TO TASTE |
 |
| SPOON OUT ONTO A SLIGHTLY DAMPENED SURFACE |
 |
| SPREAD TILL APPROXIMATELY 1,5cm THICK |
 |
USE A ROUND COOKIE CUTTER 5cm IN DIAMETER
- DIP IT IN OIL SO THAT IT WON'T STICK
WHEN CUTTING THE SEMOLINA INTO GNOCCHI |
 |
CUT THE SEMOLINA INTO ROUNDS OF 5cm DIAMETER
- SCOOP UP THE OFF-CUTS AND USE THEM AGAIN . |
 |
SEMOLINA GNOCCHI, LAYERED NEATLY, OVERLAPPING,
IN THE OVEN-PROOF DISH, BEFORE BAKING,
and SPRINKLED WITH MORE PARMESAN CHEESE |
BAKING:
Grease an
ovenproof dish.
Arrange the
gnocchi, slightly overlapping each other, in neat rows, following the shape of
the dish.
Sprinkle with the
remaining grated 50g Parmesan cheese, and dot with the remaining 20g butter.
 |
MOUTH-WATERING SEMOLINA GNOCCHI,
FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN.... |
Bake at 200*C for 20 minutes, or until begins to turn golden on the edges.
TO SERVE:
Serve as a first
course (about 3 to 4 pieces per portion)… ( yields about 8 to 10 starter portions
)
Or as a main meal
too, about 6 pieces per portion.( yields 6 generous portions)
Serve with a chilled fresh tomato salsa on the side, and a garnish of fresh
basil.
 |
FRESH TOMATO SALSA - SERVE CHILLED...
JUST A SPOONFUL-OR-TWO PER PORTION. |
INGREDIENTS for Salsa
6 to 8 ripe
tomatoes
8 fresh basil
leaves
1 clove garlic
1 Tablespoon olive
oil
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground black
pepper
Method
for salsa
Blend all ingredients in processor, and serve
chilled.
1 to 2 Tablespoons per serving.
*#* Award-winning $$$ recipe* **
So as usual – well almost… there will be a surprise!
- so ‘til
next week,
‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’
PS...
Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh...
How
to comment on My blog…
5 easy steps to submitting your comments
:
Submitting a comment
has proven to be frustraTiNgly difficult on this “blogspot.com” blog
site…so what you should do if you would like to comment,
is:
* * At the
bottom of my blog :
1) Click on “COMMENTS”,
2) A choice of option ‘address sources’(that is
from ‘you’) will appear –
Just choose the “ANONYMOUS” option, as this seems to
be to the easiest way to get a comment through!
3) Then… In
the empty box write your
clever comments to ‘…MAVIS’
…...welcome to sign your name on your
comment too!
4) When done, click on “PREVIEW” to check what you’ve written
5) Lastly, click on “SUBMIT”
And, ….For your peace-of-mind :
Google’s behind-the-scenes statistics allow me only to
see what countries, and how many “hits” viewed ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’
P-r-i-v-a-c-y
is their word!…and never do
I discover your email address!
