When in Rome - Gnocchi alla Romana

I have found a new food addiction… Seriously, as a cheese lover, how could I not?
Several days ago, Dajana from Baker's Corner.... Somewhere in my Kitchen left a comment in my Chestnut Gnocchi post requesting that break from the familiar and try something new... Gnocchi alla Romana. I am ecstatic that she challenged me with this.

This is one of the “Other” types of gnocchi that I was referring to. You see, Roman Gnocchi is a strange, yet wonderfully delicious thing. It is a baked gnocchi, quite different from its boiled counterparts from other parts of Italy. It contains no Potato, Ricotta, Sweet potato or Squash. It does, however, contain flour, not just any flour though; Roman Gnocchi is made with Semolina, like pasta dough. The method is quite unique, for it seems to be a combination of Polenta as well as the French Pate a Choux. You will see what I am talking about in the directions.

The whole point is that, although Roman gnocchi is very different from what we, as Americans, would consider gnocchi (if we even consider it at all), it is absolutely one of the tastiest dishes I have had in a long time.

Rich Buttery and Cheesy goodness awaits you. Crispy browned crust on the outside, creamy smooth deliciousness on the inside. I urge you to give 'em a try…
The reward is WELL worth the effort.

Gnocchi alla Romana

8 TB Unsalted Butter; Divided
1 cup Chicken Stock
2 cups Whole Milk
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Semolina Flour
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (4 oz) Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; Divided
Lightly butter a quarter sheet pan and a casserole dish with 2 TB of the butter.

In a medium saucepan, heat 4 TB butter with Chicken Stock, Milk and salt.

When the mixture just begins to boil, begin pouring semolina in a thin stream (Like making Polenta) whisking vigorously to prevent clumping.

Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the dough mass begins to pull away from the sides of the pan (This is like making Pate a Choux)

Remove pan from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano

and beaten eggs.

The Dough will “Break” after you add the eggs, just continue stirring

and it will come back together again (Just like Pate a Choux)

Spread mixture to 1/2 inch depth in the buttered quarter sheet pan, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. (like Polenta, again)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Using a 2 1/2 inch diameter round cutter, cut rounds of the set gnocchi batter and place in the buttered baking dish, overlapping slightly, creating even rows.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and dot with the remaining 2 TB butter.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown (If you would like to brown it further, place under a broiler for 1 minute)

Mangia!! and Dajana, Grazie Mille !!!!
~~

Cruller Intentions - The French Cruller and the Churro

OK, what happened? I realize that all things change. But, honestly, someone should have warned me about this…!!!

Let's rewind for a moment <<------------------<
When I was a child, oh so many decades ago… OK, it was only 3 decades but still. A doughnut was a lightly sweet but spicy torus (Geometric/Physics speak for doughnut shaped) of deep fried goodness, with or without a small amount of glaze and maybe some sprinkles (If you had been especially well behaved that day)…

Fast forward to the Now >--------------------->>
Doughnuts are sickly sweet gobs of shortening soaked dough that are then, saturated with enough glaze to choke the Tooth Fairy. Dunkin is defunct, Winchel’s…all but wiped out, and Krispy Kreme (The worst perpetrator of sucrose over-saturation) has taken their places.

Maybe it’s because my taste buds have changed, but I seriously do not remember doughnuts being so grossly "over the top" sweet. I think KK is in league with the American Dental Association in an evil plot to raise the average American’s oral hygiene costs.

By far the hardest hit by this trend is, what is supposed to be, a light and fluffy, crispy yet creamy manifestation of Choux Paste --- The French Cruller. It is now, so over laden with glaze that it collapses under its own weight with a texture more befitting and “Old Fashioned” doughnut. Depressing.

In my ongoing quest to avoid sugar commas, even when I am craving something "sweet", I had embarked upon a home-made spiced French Cruller in an attempt to re-create the more spicy doughnuts I remember from childhood... and while not a "Real" Cruller, which is torpedo shaped and twisted (more like a cinnamon twist), they are quite delicious and, for the most part, resemble, in flavor, the delicious French Crullers I use to acquire from Dunkin Donuts. The point of all this, is that someone from work asked me why I had not made doughnuts for awhile (I originally did it about 8 months ago). So, I have revisited my French Cruller recipe and added a twist.

Unlike "true" crullers, which are of German/Dutch origin, French Crullers are based on Pâte a Choux or Choux Paste, just like Eclaires and Creme Puffs, however, they are deep fried instead of baked.
Choux paste is fairly easy to make at home, you will need a piping bag to make rings (tori, for all you geometry and physics buffs out there) of dough on parchment. Once the rings are made they must be frozen to facilitate movement into the hot oil. Being frozen when they hit the oil is part of what creates their crispy exterior and puffy yet creamy interior.

As a side note, before I begin, this is also very similar to how Churros are made. Simply replace the sugar with about 2 TB brown sugar and cut the eggs in half and flavor with 2 tsp cinnamon. Fill the pastry bag and skip the freezing step, simply squeeze dough from the pastry bag directly into the hot oil. Drain and roll in cinnamon & sugar. I am making both this evening. It gives me something to do while I am waiting for the French Crullers to freeze.

French Crullers – Spiced Pâte a Choux

1 cup Water
8 TB unsalted Butter
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup AP Flour
1/2 tsp Mace
1/4 tsp Cardamom
1/8 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Ginger
4 Large eggs (possibly 5)
Peanut/Vegetable oil, for frying

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1.5 oz milk
If you want to coat them you will need to make a double batch of this glaze.

Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

Measure out flour and spices and whisk together lightly to combine.

Once water is boiling, remove from heat and add the flour mixture all at once and begin stirring with a wooden or bamboo spoon until the flour has absorbed all the liquid.

Return the pan to the low heat and continue to cook the paste, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes to evaporate any excess water.

Remove pan from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.
Now comes the hard part.
Take your first egg

Crack an egg into the mixture and begin stirring,

the dough will "break" and kind of fall apart, looking like a total mess, but keep stirring..

Then suddenly the dough will bind back together again and become a homogeneous paste.

It takes a lot of stirring, you can use a hand mixer, but you don't want to incorporate too much air into the batter.
Add each of the 3 remaining eggs individually and stir until each egg is incorporated.
The dough will break each time, and then come back together.
When you are done, you will have a smooth and glossy paste.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a large star tip, with the choux paste.

Pipe 3 inch rings of choux paste onto the parchment paper. (I usually get 1 1/2 dozen)

Place baking sheets into the freezer for 1 hour.

Make the glaze, by mixing confectioners sugar and milk with a whisk until smooth, cover to prevent crusting.

Fill a large pot, deep skillet or your deep fryer with at least 2 inches of Vegetable or Peanut oil.
Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Remove a baking sheet from the freezer, peel the rings from the parchment and gently slip them into the hot oil.

After about 30 second they will rise and begin to float in the oil.
They will need to be turned once the tops of the crullers puff up.

Once turned in the oil, fry an additional 1 1/2 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oil and place on a brown paper bag, or multiple layers of paper towels to drain.

Once cool enough to handle, drizzle with glaze
Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes before serving.

Churros

Follow the same steps above, replacing the Sugar with 2 TB of Brown Sugar in the Butter/Water Mixture.

Place 2 tsp Cinnamon (Canela) in with the Flour

Since you will only use 2 eggs, you will find that the dough is a lot stiffer and not as "paste" like.

Fill your pastry bag, and squeeze out about 4 inches of the dough, then cut with scissors.

Fry until golden brown.

Drain.
Shake in a plastic bowl with cinnamon & sugar...



Now the funny part - I got my tips mixed up cause I was in a hurry. Thus my Cruller tip made my Churros and my Churro tip made the Crullers....

Eat Well.