Roman-Style Gnocchi

History

"Gnocchi alla romana" names a style rather than a settled birthplace, and Artusi's is pointedly a flour version: he binds plain flour with milk and eggs, works in Gruyere and Parmesan, then lets the paste cool before cutting it into pieces and browning it in the oven. That parts his recipe from the dish's now-standard form, which is built on semolino, the coarse durum semolina used for gnocchi before potatoes reached Italy. Such baked semolina-and-cheese dumplings are old: a semolina preparation in the Roman-era De Re Coquinaria attributed to Apicius is commonly cited as a distant relative. The "Roman" label itself is disputed. The heavy reliance on butter and Parmesan has led some to claim a Piedmontese, northern-Italian origin, while others read "romana" as a slip for "romena" and point instead toward Romania. The record does not settle the question. What is clear is that Ada Boni's later codification helped fix the semolino version as a cherished Roman tradition, and Artusi's earlier milk-and-flour take shows the dish was still fluid when he set it down in 1891.

Ingredients

• g flour
• g butter
• g Gruyere cheese
• g Parmesan cheese
• l milk
• eggs

Instructions

1. Work flour with eggs and milk (added gradually) in a pan, add Gruyere pieces, and cook stirring until set; salt and add half the butter.
2. Cool, then drop in lumps into a heatproof dish, dressing with the remaining butter and grated Parmesan (never on the top layer, which would turn bitter).
3. Brown under an iron lid or in a Dutch oven and serve hot.