Gnocchi ⁠— My Way!

So what is Gnochhi?

Believe me, when I first made Gnochhi, I had no clue that it is going to be a super hit. I made it for a lark, as a make-ahead breakfast, inspired by a very old cookbook gifted at my wedding, called Virtue’s Colourful Cooking.

You can find out more about the traditional Gnochhi, that is made with potatoes, here.

Oh my dears, you will love the unique taste! The semolina that we have in upma, kesari and halwa gets transformed into an European experience… shows just how versatile this simple ingredient is!

It replaces the pasta with something homemade and yummy.

How to make the Gnochhi?

So what I did was to boil milk. Next to it I added the roasted semolina in a stream, from a height, to prevent lumps.

This then cooked for 5 minutes on the heat. After that, I took it off the heat and added cheese and butter. I also pummeled in an egg.

Finally, I added salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil.

Finally, to get it into usable cubes of goodness, I poured it into a tray and cut it.

And how to make it better?

Now that the Gnocchi is ready, all I did was to make something to go with it.

I experimented with two flavours:

Vegetarian version with spinach

I used a bunch of spinach, washed thoroughly and cut it into strips. Just hold the bunches of leaves down on a board and slice away.

Next I sauteed it in butter with sliced onions, chopped garlic, paneer, tomatoes and sweet corn. Yum!

Before setting the gnochhi in the tray, I added baby tomatoes to it to give it that bling of red beauty.

Non-vegetarian version with minced meat

For my minced meat version, I cooked the mutton mince with salt and chilli powder. In another pan, I fried onions, garlic, ginger-garlic paste and added the cooked meat to it.

I also added sliced baby potatoes. Finally, a bit of pureed tomatoes. Salt and pepper, and herbs of your choice. While setting the gnochhi in the tray, I added sliced carrots for a lovely colour contrast.

How to assemble the Gnochhi?

Take a greased tray. Drop in the gnocchi. Fill up the spaces with your chosen ingredients. Cover with cheese. Drizzle a bit of oil. Try not to drool over it!

Bake and serve

Make ahead this dish as a filling breakfast. Or take it along as your share of the potluck meal. Also great for picnics.

Gnochhi ⁠— The KR Way!

Recipe by Sheetal RabindranCourse: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Gnochhi is unusual and delicious alternative to the usual pasta dishes. Use this as a base to create many different versions. You can also serve this as a side in barbecues.

Ingredients

• 1 litre milk

• 250 g semolina/sooji/rava

• 50-100 g of cheese, grated

• 50 g salted butter

• 1 small egg

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• Boil milk and pour in the semolina in a fine stream. Stir the milk continuously to prevent lumps.
• Cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add salt, butter and egg. Mix well.
• Reserve some cheese for the garnishing and add the rest.
• Finally add 2 tbsp of olive oil, reserving some for drizzling on top.
• Press this mixture in a rectangular tray, and flatten the top.
• Remove the cubes when cool.
• Use in any recipe of your choice. Two examples are listed above, but it will also go with pasta sauce/ sausages/vegetable toppings/eggs, etc. Just drizzle reserved olive oil and cheese before you bake it, for 10 minutes at 160 ℃

Notes

• Make ahead this dish as a nourishing breakfast. Have an easy morning!
• Serve as a side in barbecues, along with bread, rice, salads, etc.
• Take the dish as your contribution to a picnic or a potluck. For such cases, bake in a pretty tray, Cover with foil.