Gnocchi di Semolino - Semolina Gnocchi

Semolina gnocchi remind me of my childhood. We called them "Gnocchi alla romana" and we used to have them once a week, as a first course, instead of pasta or risotto. We loved them so much that I cannot remember any ever left over. 

I like to revive this vintage dish, reducing the amount of butter and serving it either as a main course or a side dish with any meat or just a fried egg.

Gnocchi di Semolino - Semolina Gnocchi

250 g semolina flour
1 litre whole milk
70 g butter
2 yolks
80 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt and black pepper

Serves 5 to 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

1. Put milk, semolina and a generous pinch of salt into a saucepan and bring it to the boil, stirring continuously with a balloon. Let the mixture boil gently for about 5 minutes (still stirring) until it becomes thick enough to stand a spoon up in. 
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and beat in half of the butter, half of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, the pepper and the yolks, one by one. 
3. Spread the mixture on a large oven tray (35 cm x 40 cm) previously moistened with cold water. With a wet spatula spread the semolina mixture evenly to a thickness of 1 cm and leave to cool. This will take 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200° C.
5. Cut the mixture into 5 cm round shapes, using a pastry cutter. Place the rounds, slightly overlapping, in the bottom of a buttered ovenproof dish (30 cm x 25 cm). Dot the top of the gnocchi with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until gnocchi become golden brown. Serve warm.