My first attempt at potato gnocchi was a bit of a disaster, so I have tried a few alternatives. This has three cheeses in it, so it is quite rich, you won’t need much. This recipe serves 8, serve some vegetables or a salad on the side to cut through the richness.
1 litre milk
1 & 1/3 cups semolina
2 egg yolks (freeze the whites for a friand or a meringue later on)
35g (3 slices if using presliced) swiss cheese, grate finely or chop finely if it is the sliced variety
3/4 cup parmesan
120g mozzarella
170g butter
1/3 cup fresh sage leaves
Grease a 26cm X 18cm baking dish and set aside. Pour milk into a large, heavy based saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Add semolina, stirring until it thickens and starts pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Stir in swiss cheese, half a cup of the parmesan, 50g of the butter and the egg yolks. When well combined, tip into the baking dish and smooth. Refrigerate for approximately 2 hours, you need the texture to be firm and blubbery.
Preheat a fan forced oven to 160 celcius, 180 if not fan forced. Upend the baking dish onto a clean chopping board, and with a little wiggle the mixture should come out upside down. Cut into 8 pieces, and divide each piece into 4cm squares. Place each into a baking dish, Divide 20g of the remaining butter into eight and dot each dish. Sprinkle the remaining quarter cup of parmesan over each, then place a strip of mozzarella over the top. Bake for half an hour.
Just before the gnocchi are cooked, melt the remaining butter in a small frypan, drop in the sage leaves and cook the butter until it is browned. Pour over the gnocchi.