Gnocchi alla Romana

Unsure what to cook for dinner tonight? Here is an idea: Gnocchi alla Romana!
These are not the traditional Italian gnocchi made with potatoes, but they are prepared with semolina flour, milk, egg yolks, a touch of nutmeg and lots of cheese. They are tender and with a very delicate flavor. The savor of these gnocchi is in the nutmeg and the cheese. I used Parmesan (obviously!) and a cave aged Gruyere cheese, which has a very distinctive flavor that does not overshadow the taste of other ingredients. I love to use Gruyere cheese, because of its savory but not overpowering taste. And it's a great melting cheese, perfect for baking!
The gnocchi alla romana is an Italian primo piatto, that you can serve before a light meat dinner (secondo piatto), or as a main dish for a more casual dinner. You can top the gnocchi with your best tomato sauce, or serve it next to a green salad. Buon Appetito!


Ingredients for 4-6 servings:

• 4 cups (32 fl oz) of milk
• 2 cups of semolina flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg (powder or grated)
• 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of shredded cave-aged Gruyere cheese, or other savory cheese
• salt

Preparation time: 45 minutes plus 1 hour (or more) of refrigeration time.

Directions:
Step 1: In a large saucepan, bring the milk to a light boil, over medium heat. Add the semolina flour to the milk, wishing without stopping to avoid lumps from forming. Add the salt and the nutmeg.

Step 2: Cook over low heat, mixing continuously and carefully scraping the semolina from the sides and bottom of the pan, for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick enough to pull away from the sides of pan.

Step 3: Remove from heat and incorporate the egg yolks,1 cup of Gruyere and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Save the rest of the Parmesan cheese for the end.

Step 4: Butter or oil a baking sheet large enough - I used an 11x15 in baking sheet. Pour the mixture, and flat it out as even as you can, using a wooden spoon, stir stick or the flat blade of a large knife, to about 1/4 of an inch in thickness.

Step 5: Cover with plastic wrap and let cool down for a minimum of an hour. Note: You can also prepare this the day before and store in the refrigerator for a day!

Step 6: Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Butter the bottom of a oven dish, rectangular or round.  Cut the semolina mixture in as many round shapes as you can. You can use a cookie cutter or a round glass, large or small. Mine have a diameter of 2.75 inches.

Note: If you don't want to throw away the left over mixture, place all of these piece to the bottom of the dish, where nobody will see, and place all the round gnocchi on top.

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Step 7: Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and butter cut in small pieces.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until nicely golden on top.

Enjoy!!

Pasta Salad with Fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil Pesto

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!
Yesterday, I enjoyed a perfect day at the beach. The weather was gorgeous, the waves were spectacular, and the water was warm enough for me to get wet. But no, I did not go for a swim. Even if I have been here in Southern California for a few years now,  I like to stay with my feet in the sand. I grew up swimming in the warm and quiet Adriatic Sea, and I'm not yet used to huge waves and the big creatures that can be found around here, like dolphins, seals, and a shark now and then. One of the thing in my bucket list thou is learning to paddleboard, so I might have to get used to the ocean soon!
Yesterday, for my picnic lunch at the beach, I made this summery and wholesome pasta salad with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil pesto. This is the most classic of the Italian pasta salad. Great not only for picnics, but also perfect for your next potluck dinner or barbecue.
As I mentioned many times before, when the recipes only requires few ingredients, these should be extremely tasty and of great quality. My fresh tomatoes are from the local farmers market. The mozzarella is fresh, I bought mine from Trader Joe's. And the basil sauce is a very light homemade pesto, prepared with fresh basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and, if you like, a bit of garlic.
The basil I used is from my plant. Still the same I had more than a month ago. I know some of you were concerned about its well being, but as you can see, it's looking good and still alive!! Well, maybe it needs some  water right now :)

Ingredients: serving 4

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
• 3-4 fresh tomatoes
• one bunch of basil leaves
• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
• half garlic clove - optional
• salt and pepper
• 12 oz of pasta, I used Barilla farfalle pasta

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Directions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta following the directions on the box. While the water boils and the pasta cooks, we can prepare the sauce for the farfalle.
Wash and cut the tomatoes in small cubes. Add to a large bowl and season with salt, and pepper if you like.

Step 2: Prepare a light pesto sauce: combine the oil, basil, salt and garlic (if you use it) in a processor and pulse until chopped. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Add some olive oil if the sauce is too dense.

                                              

                                              

                                               

                                              

Step 3: Drain the pasta when ready, and run it under cold tap water for a minute. This will prevent the pasta from overcooking. The pasta should be al dente, right? Add to the bowl with the tomatoes, add the pesto sauce, and mix well.

                                             

                                                                          

Step 4: Cut the mozzarella cheese in small cubes, and if the pasta is cold, add to the pasta, and mix one more time. You don't want the mozzarella to melt!

                                              

And that's all :)

 Buon Appetito!

Classic Italian Tiramisu

What's better than finishing my birthday week, and starting a long holiday weekend with this simply amazing tiramisu?
If you don't know, in Italian "tiramisu" means "pick me up", which is exactly what this heavenly dessert will do. Every bite combines the delicate flavor of the mascarpone cream with the bold aroma of the espresso. And I'm sure, after you try this recipe, it will leave you begging for more!
You will be surprise by how easy and fast is to make this classic Italian dessert. The secret for an impeccable tiramisu is in the cookies, perfectly dipped in strong Italian espresso (not too dry and not too soggy), and a rich, silky cream, just like you see in the pictures below, that makes you want to lick your screen ... no, please don't :)

Ready to try this recipe? Prepare yourself for greatness!


* With the quantity indicated below I prepared a 9 x 13 inches tiramisu (that I brought to my boys' school for a teachers' lunch) and 3 individual cups (all for me!!!).
You can use around 3/4 of the amounts indicated if you'd like to prepare just the 9x13 in size: 24oz of mascarpone, 6 egg yolks, 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 3/4 cup of whipping cream,  8 oz of savoiardi cookies, 2 cups of coffee.

Ingredients:  To make a 9 x 13 in cake, and three individual cups *

• 32 oz of mascarpone cheese (I used 4 packages of the Trader Joe's mascarpone)
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 and half cups of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of whipping cream
• about 10 oz savoiardi cookies
• About 2.5 cups of coffee (I used Italian espresso)

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus two hours or more of refrigeration

Directions:
Step 1: Prepare the coffee and let it cool down to room temperature.
In a large bowl, blend the egg yolks and the sugar.

Step 2: Add the mascarpone cheese and the vanilla extract, and blend some more.

Step 3: Whip the whipping cream, and add to the mascarpone cream. Mix using a spoon, not a blender, so the whipped cream will keep.

Step 4: Now that the mascarpone cream is ready, we can assemble the tiramisu. First arrange the cookies in the pan that you will use, so that you can figure out how to fit them.

Step 5: Quickly soak the cookies in the coffee. It's very important that the cookies do not soak for too long. Just dip them really quickly, in and out of the coffee. Do the same for the cookies on the first layer.

Step 6: Spread half of the mascapone cream over the soaked cookies. Cover well!

Step 7: Repeat with one more layer of savoiardi cookies dipped in coffee, and the rest of the mascarpone cream.

Step 7: If you'd like, decorate the top with a fork. And sprinkle with unsweetened powder cocoa! Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or longer!

Enjoy!!