A cooking experiment

[Run Amok]

Some of you have seen this on FB. But I thought it belonged here as well. Once in a while I eat something at a restaurant that I feel compelled to reproduce. A few weeks ago I had a dish of gnudi in Vancouver that were amazing. I looked up some recipes on google and, of course, got totally sucked into the process of it.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/gnudi-395072

Sunday I started making them. Cheese goes in the freezer to firm up. Then rolled into balls with a light coating of semolina. Then buried in semolina for 3 days to create its own pasta shell.







So far, they seem to be curing well. Although the recipe I am using had very mixed comments. But, the ones that were less successful seemed to be people who let them sit for less than the 3 days recommended. The ricotta I got is also very dense and was not watery at all.

Tomorrow is the big reveal. I am going to serve them with tomato sauce though because cheese balls topped with a buttery sauce is really too much for me!

[BonitaApplebum]

I did see the pics, and I am very curious about the outcome!

I love reconstructing recipes from restaurants.

[Dagstag v 2.0]

Gnudi pics

[BonitaApplebum]

Gnudi pics

 

[ihop]

 

[diablita]

Gnudi pics

 

[BonitaApplebum]

So?!? Big reveal...

[Run Amok]

So! We ate them. And they were fine.  But the texture wasn't as good as i remember eating elsewhere.  Fun experiment!

[Run Amok]

Not the most appetizing photo-- this was the dish after we'd demolished most of it. But you can see the cheesy center surrounded by what appears to be pasta.



Maybe I'm the only one who was kinda "meh". The friend who came over to dinner just texted me and asked me to show her how to make them. And, BF, who wasn't at dinner last night so didn't get to try them, but took them for lunch today just sent me a text to tell me they are delicious and should go into regular rotation.

[witchypoo]

Gnudi pics

LOL

[caribougrrl]

this is right up my alley... how have I never even heard of gnudi before?

[Dagstag v 2.0]

this is right up my alley... how have I never even heard of gnudi before?

Same. In all seriousness, I want to try this. Maybe when it stops being 90 degrees outside.

[Run Amok]

I realized I forgot the recipe, so I've added it. I found an entry on the food lab about this recipe and how he freezes the mixture and scoops it with a scoop instead. I just used two spoons because I don't own a scoop. But, I hate piping bags so that was a more interesting solution to me.

I used a very creamy/smooth whole milk ricotta. When I first made the recipe I tasted the cheese mixture and it was delicious, but very salty. After 3 days, I was impressed that the interior took on more of a tang and the saltiness was gone.

Most of the time I've seen it done with some rendition of the butter sauce like in the recipe I posted, Dag, and most of the process involves the fridge and freezer-- so unless you can't bring yourself to eat hot food I think you could do it now.

I first started seeing Gnudi in the past 5 years or so. I'm a sucker for any kind of dumpling.

[caribougrrl]

so, I finally am trying my hand at gnudi using this recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ricotta-gnudi-sage-butter
(although, for practical reasons, I drained the ricotta about 24 hrs and will have left them in semolina for 48 hrs... short of RAs recommended three days but  )

the filling was firm enough to gently roll by hand (maybe because of the egg yolk?)... if I'd had to muck around with piping bag or melon baller I might not have bothered

[Run Amok]

Mmmm gnudi!

[caribougrrl]

having never eaten gnudi made by someone else, I wasn't really sure what to expect... the "crust" texture was like firm porridge, and I was anticipating something with a bit more resistance... and I have no idea if that's what they should be like or if I mucked it up

they did hold their shape, and they tasted pretty good (I would more heavily season the ricotta next time... more parm, more nutmeg)

[Run Amok]

You know, I've eaten them twice in a restaurant and both times they were amazing. We did not see these on any menus in Italy (probably a regional thing) so didn't eat them there.

I've tried twice at home and never made them perfectly. Although, as I mentioned above, others raved about them. To me, it just wasn't a perfect recreation of those amazing bites I'd had at a restaurant. One thing I noticed between the recipe I posted and the one you posted is the amount of drying time. I cured mine in the fridge for 3-4 days. I also imagine that a professional fridge might be a slightly different environment than my kitchen? Not sure. Anyone, this one eludes me.

[caribougrrl]

I also think I packed mine too tight in the semolina... a few were delicate to unstick from each other... next time I will not be less stingy about space

Also, I can only get fairly coarse milled semolina... the right consistency for polenta, but I wonder if a finer flour would work better.