This month, the Daring Cooks challenged us to think inside the box – the icebox, that is! Audax taught us some really cool tips and tricks for stocking our freezers with prepare-ahead meals that can keep our taste buds satisfied even during the busiest of times.
It is back to school time for many families in the Northern hemisphere and for many others that time will come soon. As for us down here, we are still in the thick of it with Term 3 well on its way. So, recipes for made-ahead meals are always welcome. I often stock up on goodies whenever I have some extra time in the kitchen. Weekends and school holidays are the time during which I do some extra cooking. Whenever I make something for lunch/dinner that requires a little more time and effort, I make a little more and freeze it for later. I freeze so many things: gnocchi (both potato and ricotta ones), lasagne (both assembled or just the pasta sheets), ravioli, tortellini, gyoza or momos, sofficini, fish couscous, soups, involtini… you name it. That’s how we get to have a good dinner every day, even during busy school days. Today, I will share with you the recipe for another one of our favourite freezer friendly meals: Gnocchi alla Romana. These are not your everyday gnocchi. They are made with semolina and milk, cut in rounds and then baked with Parmigiano Reggiano and butter until golden brown. They are some of the best comfort food Italy has to offer. It is a traditional recipe from Rome, as the name suggests and they are apparently the first kind of gnocchi ever made, as they date back (in a very similar form) to the Roman Empire! They are really easy to make and they freeze beautifully, so I always make extra. Enjoy and don’t forget to check out all my Regional Italian recipes!
Gnocchi alla Romana
Gnocchi alla Romana - semolina based gnocchi Roman style, topped with butter and Parmigiano Reggiano and baked until golden brown.
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 250 gms – 1 ½ cups semolina
- 1 lt – 4 cups milk
- 60 gms – ¼ cup butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 60 gms – 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg grated
- Salt to taste
Assembling
- 40 gms – 3 tbsp butter chopped in small cubes
- 60 gms – 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated
Instructions
-
Put the milk, 60 gms – ¼ cup of butter, nutmeg and salt to taste in a big pot. Bring to a boil.
-
Add the semolina and keep stirring. Cook, always stirring, for about 10 minutes or until it thickens.
-
Remove from the fire and add the egg yolks one by one, stirring until well combined.
-
-
Pour the mixture onto a tray covered with baking paper and spread it into a 1.5 cm – ½ inch thick sheet. Let it cool down so it firms up.
-
Cut out rounds of 5 cm – 2 inches in diameter. Put them in a baking dish, making sure to slightly overlap them.
-
Sprinkle with the remaining 60 gms – 2/3 cup of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano and top with the small cubes of butter. At this point, if you want, you can freeze them.
-
Bake in a pre heated oven at 200°C – 395°F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
-
Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
To freeze Gnocchi alla Romana, simply cover the baking dish with foil and freeze them. To cook them, just bake them from frozen. They may require a couple of extra minutes in the oven to brown.
I’m from northern Italy, and when I first discovered Gnocchi alla Romana I was surprised of the way it was called – gnocchi for me were something quite different. But I was blown away by this dish, a great alternative to baked pasta. Manu, I absolutely agree – this is one of the best comfort food Italy has to offer, and – yes – they do freeze really well 🙂
I love gnocchi but never thought of freezing it. Thank you for that great idea!
Wow, this is a really pretty dish. I have never seen this before. I bet the nutmeg add a really nice flavor.
Nice one… I had a friend once who loved eating these for lunch, every day!
Yum, yum. I have only ever made semolina gnocchi once. I must do it again. Yours looks delicious.
Nice. I never saw a semolina disc like gnocchi. This looks delicious. I am so partial to savory dishes.
Five minutes into your blog and I’m salivating! I’m astounded by the types of food that I didn’t know about! Anyway now that I’m on your blog, I’m going to try so many needs dishes. Planning to start with this Gnocchi recipe- we don’t consume egg, is there any substitute?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Sneha! Thanks!!
You can make these gnocchi without eggs… just add a couple of extra tablespoons of grated Parmigiano to the mix. They may not retain their shape as perfectly and they may be a little softer in texture, but the taste will not be affected. Let me know how you like them! 🙂
Wow!! So happy I found your fantastic website!
Just made the polenta alla Romana in advance for this evening and will let you know how it tastes…but i am sure it will be verrrryyy good!
Just wondering if it makes a difference in the texture when re-shaping the rest of the dough?
I did that and freezed it so do not know yet!
Thanks again!
they were delicious! thanks again
Awww I am so happy you liked them! I love them too!
Did you try the frozen ones too? I usually do not shape the leftover semolina – I just add it to the oven tray in whatever shape I get… How did the frozen ones turn out? Do let me know! 🙂
This might be a stupid question but do you eat this as a main dish or serve some meat along with it? I’m looking forward to trying it and it looks delicious!
Hi Julie! It’s not a stupid question at all. 🙂 We serve this dish instead of pasta, so for us it’s a “first course”. This means that it can either be served on its own as a main course (it is quite filling), or you can serve a “second course” (meat or maybe a mixed salad) after it (not together with it though). Hope it helps! Cheers!