How To Make Gnocchi
This is not the Gnocchi post you are expecting. This is not the Italian gnocchi post that explains how little dumplings are made from potato and egg, rolled into a rope then cut and lightly shaped with a fork. No, this is the gnocchi post where the famous choux paste is used to make dumplings that are flavored with cheese, simmered, them baked crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. This is the Gnocchi Parieseinne post. Yep, the French needed their own gnocchi and this is it.
How To Make Gnocchi – The Choux Paste
Choux paste, of profiterole and cheese puff fame, can also be used to make gnocchi. The choux paste, in this case, is savory, not sweet. I use the same recipe I us for cheese puffs. The choux paste is put put tighter with water, flour, and eggs then cheese is beaten into the mix. DOn’t forget the black pepper. It is so nice with eh cheese.
How To Make Gnocchi – The First Cooking
Where as cheese puffs are piped on to a baking tray, the gnocchi are piped into a pan of simmering water. After transferring the choux paste into a piping bag, little dumplings, about an inch long, are squeezed from the bag and cut off with a knife. The dumplings fall into the simmering water and simmer for about 2 minutes then they are removed to drain. The trick is to do a few at a time so the dumplings all cook evenly. The process is repeated until all the dumplings are cooked.
How To Make Gnocchi – The Second Cooking
After the simmering, the gnocchi can be wrapped and frozen if desired. Or, the gnocchi can pe places inn baking dish, topped with more cheese and broiled for 8-10 minutes. The gnocchi will puff again and the cheese will melt and get crispy golden brown! Yum! This is best serve hot and makes a great side dish!
The ‘How To Make Gnocchi Parisienne’ video is below. The full recipe follows.
- 1 cup of milk
- 4 tbsp of butter
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup of flour
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup of shredded gruyere cheese plus extra
- 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese plus extra
- In a medium pot, add the milk, salt, pepper and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- When the mixture is boiling and the butter is melted, pour in all the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to low. Keep stirring until the dough comes off the side of the pan and comes together as a dough - about 1 minute. Keep stirring for another minute to cook the floury taste from the dough.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add one egg directly into the pot stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate the egg into the dough. After the egg is added, the dough will be clumpy and sticky, but will come back together when the egg is fully incorporated. Repeat this step until all the eggs are incorporated and the dough is a thick paste. A hand mixer can be used to incorporate the eggs instead of a wooden spoon.
- When all the eggs are incorporated, stir in the cheese.
- Let the dough cool and transfer it to a pastry bag with a 1 inch plain tip. A plastic bag with a corner cut off and a piping tip inserted can also be used.
- Place a medium pot of water on the stove and bring it to a simmer.
- Pipe small, 1 inch, dumplings of choux paste from the piping bag and cut them off with a pairing knife, allowing the dumplings to fall into the simmering water. Do a 15-20 dumplings ate a time. Let the dumplings simmer 2-2.5 minutes until they are puffed up.. Remove the dumplings from the water with a strainer or skimmer and set aside on a baking tray draining as well as possible.. Repeat until all the choux paste is cooked into dumplings.
- Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Place the well drained gnocchi into the baking dish making one layer on the bottom. Sprinkle the gnocchi with shredded gruyere and parmesan.
- Broil the gnocchi in the oven until the gnocchi puff up and the cheese melts, gets golden brown and crisps.
- Serve hot.
- The gnocchi can be a side dish or a main course.
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