L'Italo-Americano

LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano Stir with a whisker until the mixture begins to thicken, t h e n s w i t c h t o a s p o o n . Cook for about 15 minutes, then turn the heat off and add a tad of nutmeg, a tbsp o f g r a t e d p a r m i g i a n o o r g r a n a a n d t h e t w o e g g yolks. P o u r t h e m i x t u r e o n a tray (or large plate, or large oven dish: what you need is something flat and relati- vely big), ensuring you wet i t s s u r f a c e l i g h t l y w i t h water first. With a spatula or a rolling pin, spread the mixture evenly, so that it reaches a thickness of about 1/2 inch (1.5 to 2 cm). Let it all cool completely. If you want, you can do so in the fridge. Now, the fun part begins: c u t t i n g t h e g n o c c h i ! Y o u c a n u s e e i t h e r a r o u n d cookie cutter or a glass, of a b o u t 1 . 5 / 2 i n d i a m e t e r ( P e r s o n a l n o t e : m y o w n grandmother, whose gnoc- chi alla Romana were just to-die-for, used to cut them into small squares of about 1/2 inch). O n c e t h e y ' v e b e e n c u t , place them in layers into a p r e v i o u s l y b u t t e r e d o v e n dish. You have to be careful here and avoid laying them flat: your first row of gnoc- c h i s h o u l d b e p r o p p e d against the side of the oven dish, and the other placed at an angle against them, pretty much the way you do when you make scalloped potatoes. Take your grated cheese and sprinkle it all over the gnocchi. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Once that's done, pour it all over the gnocchi and bake at 390F (200C) u n t i l t h e y a r e g o l d a n d crunchy on top (that should take about 30 minutes, but keep an eye on them to be on the safe side) L e t t h e m c o o l s l i g h t l y and serve! If you like, you can serve them with some s a g e l e a v e s , t o o , t o a d d s o m e e x t r a d e p t h t o t h e dish. Extra tips The people at Italy's ico- nic publication La Cucina Italiana give us some extra t i p s t o g e t a n e v e n n i c e r dish: for instance, they sug- gest to use the leftover bits f r o m c u t t i n g t h e g n o c c h i (unless you decide to do the way my grandma did, which means you won't have any!) to create a uniform layer at t h e b o t t o m o f t h e b a k i n g dish. Another interesting tip relates to the making of the gnocchi themselves: instead of flattening the semolina mixture on a tray and using a cookie cutter to get the g n o c c h i , y o u c o u l d a l s o divide the mixture in three o r f o u r , t h e n p o u r i t o n large enough piece of par- chment paper and roll it to create uniform cylinders. Put them in the fridge for about 20 minutes so that they solidify a little, then s l i c e t h e m a n d v o i l à , t h e gnocchi are ready! The main ingredients of gnocchi alla Romana are semolina, egg, butter and parmigiano (Photo: Robyn Mackenzie/ Dreamstime) Continued from page 30

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