After several failed attempts, I finally was able to make one of my favorite delectable dishes, “Gnocchi Romana.” Unlike the name, it is believed to have originated in Piemonte; and unlike the more famous cousin, Gnocchi, it is not made with potato flour but rather semolina. I tried several times to make this in the United States, and instead of tender parmigiano dumplings, I had a disappointing savory cream of wheat.
I finally made it for the first time in Italy, and in the first sentence of the recipe, I discovered why it was impossible to make: In the USA, you have semolina, and usually, that is all it will say. However there are two very different things both called “semolina” in the USA but not in Italy. Sometimes in the USA the package will state “fine” or “coarse.” But, because in Italy, there is no “semolina,” you have semola, which is coarser durum wheat used for pasta (primarily in the south). Then you have semolino, which is finer and may even have 00 wheat added. It is, according to the chef of my recipe, a completely different product. I had been trying to make it with semola, or as they say in the USA, “Semolina.” This time I made it with semolino, and it was very straightforward and completely, absolutely delicious.
The Image of the package of American semolina can be a clue as to whether it is the right package or not. If you see a picture of bread or pasta on the package it is what the italians would call Semola. If instead there is a picture of pastry sweets or gnocchi Romana (as in the package below) then it is semolino and ready for use in Gnocchi Romana.
The first step in making the dish is you pour the semolino into boiling milk, butter, and salt. You whisk it rapidly so you don’t have any lumps when it begins to solidify. When it seems to “lift” off the bottom of the pan, you take the pan off the heat. You add 2 egg yolks and parmigiano cheese and beat until blended with a wooden spoon. The resulting mix tastes like the most heavenly cream of wheat I ever tasted. But now you have to roll the dough, while hot, into cylinders and wrap with wax paper and chill for at least an hour.
Then you slice the cylinder into 1 cm discs and lay them on a baking dish. Coat with melted butter and sprinkle pecorino over it. Bake it for 25 minutes and then broil for 5 so it forms a crunchy crust on top.
What a magnificent dish! The buttery cheese crunch on top and the tender, delicate parmigiana dumpling underneath. So the recipe is included here. It’s in Italian, but you can switch the language, and it comes with a video that is extremely helpful. I advise Americans not to look for just semolina but rather semolina for pastry, as that will most likely be semolino. If you are in a real bind I can help you order it.
Italian version:
https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Gnocchi-alla-romana.html
English
https://www.giallozafferano.com/recipes/Gnocchi-alla-Romana.html