APPETIZERS AND DIPS - GNOCCHI ALLA ROMANA

GNOCCHETTI ALLA ROMANA ( Roman style round dumplings) Ingredients 1 pound Semolina flour 1 ½ Quart of milk ½ cup butter 4 egg yolks 2 cups Parmesan cheese Salt and Pepper 2 tsp ground sage Cooking spray to grease the pan Pinch of nutmeg

■ Preparation

To prepare the gnocchi alla Romana, place the milk in a saucepan on the fire, together with a cup of butter, with a large pinch of salt, and a pinch of nutmeg .

When it boils pour in the semolina stirring vigorously with a whisk to avoid lumps.

Cook for 20 minutes stirring constantly.,then remove the pan from the heat and incorporated the two egg yolks to the mixture and 1 cup Parmesan cheese .Stir well.

Pour the mixture into a large baking pan (greased), and level the mixture with the help of a knife or a spatula resulting in a layer about 0.5 inch (1 cm) .

Turn the oven to 400 degrees.
As soon as the mixture has cooled, with the help of a glass, cup or a pastry cutter, cut round disk with a diameter of about 2 inches (5 cm),: lay the gnocchi in  a greased pan ,slightly overlapping disk to another.
When you have fixed all the disks in the pan, sprinkle the surface with grated Parmesan, melt the remaining butter and sprinkle over the cheese.

Sprinkle the sage all over the gnocchi.
Put the pan in the preheated oven and leave it until the top of the gnocchi turns to a golden brown color about 20-25 minutes, and a nice crust is formed.

Can be served warm or cold.

Instead of butter you can cover the gnocchi with plain besciamella or besciamella with spinach

Instead of round gnocchi you can cut them square with the help of a knife