Wednesday 5 March 2008

earthy goodness: baked semolina gnocchi and mushrooms with parsley and chestnut pesto

OK. Tasty, light supper. Involving mushrooms. Mustn't take too long. Has to be tasty.

Here we go, then.

First, make your gnocchi. This version of gnocchi is adapted from Denis Cotter's recipe on p207 of his 'Wild garlic....' book. For a couple of people, you'll need 375ml stock (I use vegetable stock, but a meat stock would be fine), 90g semolina, 60g parmesan, and seasoning to taste.

Bring to stock to a rolling boil, and then whisk in the semolina (while pouring it in in a steady stream - the equivalent of patting your head while rubbing your belly at the same time), together with your seasoning. I tend to be generous with the pepper, less so with the salt, as a good whack of salt will come from the parmesan. When the mixture comes back up to the boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and stir continuously for as long as it takes the semolina to cook - go by the instructions on the packet. Once it's ready, stir in the parmesan.

Spread the lot over a swiss roll tray to a thickness of about half an inch - you might want to line the tray with baking parchment first, but I didn't use it, and no damage was done. Leave to cool.

Once cool, cut into whatever shapes you want - I prefer diamonds of about an inch by and inch and a half. You don't want dinky little things for this recipe, but shapes you can see and get stuck into.

Heat the oven to 200/400/Gas mark 6. Bake the gnocchi on a high-ish shelf for about 8-10 mins, or until deliciously golden.

While they're cooking, whizz up a pesto of cooked chestnuts, parsley, a little parmesan, and plenty of olive oil - plus a dash of lemon. Please don't ask me for measurements - I just make this by sight and taste.

In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil and butter together. Slice about 350g or so of mushrooms (for me, chestnut mushrooms give the right earthiness and intensity of flavour here), and a couple of fat cloves of garlic. Saute quickly over a medium/high heat - you don't want the mushrooms to stew or the garlic to burn. Once the mushrooms have taken on some colour, they're ready. At this point, chop a handful of parsley, and throw into the pan. Stir in, and add another knob of butter so that it's all lovely and unctuous. If you're feeling uber decadent, add a few drops of truffle oil - it really makes it.

Right, you're nearly there. Assemble the gnocchi on the plate, and tip the mushrooms over them. Finally dribble the pesto around it all and anywhere else you want it.

Eat. Enjoy. Have some more.

gnocchi with mushrooms 2


gnocchi with mushrooms 1

31 comments:

lorraine@italianfoodies said...

ok a little glass of vino and I'm ready!!:) Looks delicious!! Do you mind me asking what camera you use, I'm in the process of buying a new one but am so bloody confused now:( Me and my little sony digital have broken up, it just wasn't working anymore, it was me not him:)

Ginny said...

I've never heard of making gnocchi like this...definitely less mess and fuss then rolling it out by hand. Will have to try! Beautiful photos!

Peter M said...

What if one can't rub their belly and count at the same time? lol

I see you're experimenting with semolina too!

I'll try your approach baking it too.

Finla said...

I have never had the courage to make gnochi, as i always think it is so difficult to make them. Have bookmarked your recipe and will try them.
The whole plate looks so delicious.
I would try to for a weekend as it is such a special dish.

Mike of Mike's Table said...

I've never seen gnocchi made this way, but it sure looks good and sounds a lot easier than rolling and fighting with each small knob of dough. Great looking dish!

Manggy said...

Decadent indeed! I've not seen gnocchi made this way (of course I've only seen potato versions). It's temptingly easy :D

Jules said...

Well you've answered my question about what to do with the bag of semolina in the cupboard! Looks delicious.

Pixie said...

This looks incredibly Deeeeelicious! yum!

Annemarie said...

Darn you, I've been waiting to cook that gnocchi for aaaaaages. I'm in such an urgent mood to make it now...

Kai said...

They look so good, I have added this book to my shopping trolley on Amazon for my next purchase.

Cynthia said...

I looked at this dish and this came to mind: my heart is beating and sounds repeating, I'm waiting for you... (don't ask) :)

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

That looks delicious! I just recently made gnocchi!

test it comm said...

That looks really good! Cheesy gnocchi with sauteed mushrooms...mmm... I have been wanting to try a semolina gnocchi for a while now.

Sharona May said...

Your baked semolina gnocchi looks fantastic. I am a fan of mushrooms and so I am pretty sure I would like this dish. I have not made gnocchi but maybe it is time to venture out and give it a shot.

Sharona May

Heather said...

This looks brilliant, Sketti. It actually reminds me a lot of autumn rather than spring, but perfect and delicious nonetheless. :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

Semolina gnocchi is completely new to me (especially baked). The dish looks delicious and so comforting!

Sarah said...

I love gnocchi, but have never made it with semolina. The combo of that with the mushrooms and pesto sound heavenly!

Rosie said...

This is soooooo delicious looking!! I have never made gnocchi before *blush*

Stunning photos of the dish too :)

Rosie x

Sylvie said...

Your pictures have me drooling. What a great looking and sounding meal!

Naomi Devlin said...

Mmm,
haven't had gnocchi for a while, but I am definately inspired by these - a gluten free version of these anyway. Those mushrooms look gorgeous.

x x x

David Hall said...

That is one cracking supper - delicious! Simple but impressive.

Cheers
David

Susan from Food Blogga said...

This is one sensational dish! Oh, my, you had me with semolina gnocchi, but then you added mushrooms and chestnut pesto! How long until dinner?

Johanna GGG said...

that looks fantastic (glad to hear you are one of the fans of the wonderful dennis cotter) - I've never thought of chestnuts in a pesto but I would love to try it - and you can't beat a great baked gnocchi!

Kelly-Jane said...

Oh that looks so delicious and comforting, I'm off to amazon to investigate further =)

Tiina said...

Very nice pictures! Made me hungry :)

nina said...

This is then more or less the same as polenta, I think. Great idea for tonight's supper - fed up with meat...

Laura Paterson said...

Wow! Gorgeous sounding, and looking dish...
I would never have thought about making semolina gnocchi - thanks!

LisaRene said...

Everything looks so good I couldn't decide what to comment on! Fun twist of a recipe, at first I thought it was tofu, then polenta and was pleasantly surprised to learn it was semolina. Delicious!

Anonymous said...

I'll eat anything with mushrooms - but with homemade gnocchi? Wow!

Spice Rack said...

It's a meal full of flavor from herbs and spices from the spice which is good for our health.

Anonymous said...

hi i had the baked gnocchi at my local pub, omg it was amazin. so i tryed to make it at home without the recipe, failed. i will try yours.wish me luck