How To Make Roman Gnocchi, The ‘Virtually Unknown’ Pasta

I love potatoes, so it makes sense that my favourite pasta has long been gnocchi.

The fluffy, pillowy clouds are especially delicious when made with extra-dry, floury spuds – chefs like a salt-roasted Maris Piper or King Edward for the job.

But writing for AllRecipes, chef John Mitzewich, also known as Chef John on his YouTube channel Food Wishes, said there’s a type of gnocchi that involves no potato at all.

He said: “I feel like I’ve eaten a fair amount of Italian food, and I’ve been to Rome, but it wasn’t until late in life that I discovered [this] virtually unknown [gnocchi recipe].”

He was talking about Gnocchi alla Romana, or Roman gnocchi.

They’re a kind of dough-based dumpling which are baked in a pan.

Roman gnocchi is usually made with semolina flour (the kind Mary Berry uses to make her roast potatoes and parsnips crispier), butter, milk, egg yolks, and Parmesan.

Some recipes use nutmeg, too – we’ve written before about how crucial the spice is to a lot of Italian dishes, even though it’s often ignored in savoury dishes in the UK.

This type of gnocchi is “much simpler to pull off than the classic potato gnocchi,” Great Italian Chefs’ site reads.

Rather than kneading, rolling, cutting, and shaping the dumplings, as you would with potato gnocchi, you simply spread Roman gnocchi’s mixture onto a tray before slicing and baking it.

It works as a comforting main or a low-fuss side (it’s delicious alongside a tomato-based sauce, too).

Like “regular” potato gnocchi, there’s no single recipe.

The ratio of semolina flour to milk, for instance, ranges from 1:4 in one recipe to just over 1:2 in another. Still, a higher amount of milk is more common.

And while some use the aforementioned nutmeg to season the dish, others use cayenne pepper, or nothing at all.

Some methods remain constant, however: cook the semolina flour like polenta in stove-hot milk before laying it on the tray.

Before you cook it, add another layer of tangy Parmesan, and if you like, cover it in melted butter too.

This should serve about 4.

• Milk: 630ml
• Semolina flour: 150g
• Butter: 40g (plus extra for the dish)
• Grated Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano: 60g (plus more for sprinkling)
• Egg yolks: 1-2
• Salt and nutmeg, to taste.

• Round cutter, like a scone cutter (or the floured bottom of a glass)
• Baking-paper-lined baking tray
• Grater, for the Parmesan
• Nutmeg grater, if using fresh nutmeg
• Heavy-bottomed pan, for the milk
• Shallow baking tray or large oven-safe cast iron skillet, buttered to ensure the dumplings don’t stick.

• Simmer your salted milk, ideally with nutmeg, over a stove and whisk in the semolina.
• Keep stirring until it comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. This should take about 10 minutes.
• Remove the thickened mixture from the heat and allow it to cool a little before adding the egg yolks (stirring fast so it doesn’t scramble), all but a tablespoon of the butter, and 60g of the cheese.
• Place the mixture on a baking-paper-lined baking tray (about 1.5cm deep), then let it cool. You might want to add clingfilm to the top of this and put it in the fridge, in which case it should take about 30-60 minutes to chill.
• When you’re ready to bake the dumplings, preheat your oven to 180°C fan, 200°C conventional, or gas mark 4.
• While it’s heating up, use a round cutter like a scone cutter (or the floured bottom of a glass if you’re stuck) to cut out circles from the semolina mix.
• Layer these onto a buttered baking tray in overlapping circles.
• Melt the remaining butter – a few seconds in the microwave in a suitable container will do – and drizzle it over the dumplings. Add the rest of the Parmesan.
• Bake until golden (about 25-30 minutes).
• Sprinkle more Parmesan on top before serving, if you like.