Semolina stars gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce

Kids really like semolina gnocchi. They are creamy and cheesy. Soft. Fun as they can be cut in any shapes you like. And..something important to mention, super easy to prepare.

Today I played around the traditional recipe to create a more summer one, using fresh sugar plum tomatoes and some paprika. Yummy!

That’s all you will need for 4 servings:

And that’s how to proceed:

– Chop the tomatoes in small pieces

– Place 1 Tbsp of Extra Virgin oil of Olive in a medium pan. Turn the heat on at medium/low and add the tomatoes. Adjust with a pinch of salt. Let the tomatoes cook for 8/10 minutes.

– While the tomatoes are cooking you can prepare the semolina gnocchi. Pour the milk into a medium sauce pan. Bring to almost a boil. You will see tiny bubbles forming all around the rim of the milk surface.

– Turn the heat off. Add the paprika and a pinch of salt. Whisk. Slowly add the semolina flour and keep whisking.

– Add the egg yolk and whisk for few minutes. A nice firm cream will be formed.

– Place the semolina mix in a rectangular shape pyrex pan. Spread the semolina evenly and let it cool down completely (it should take 30/40 min). If you do not have time, just place the pyrex in the refrigerator for 20 minutes 😉

– Take a oven proof pan (I used a ceramic pan) and spread the tomato sauce at the bottom.

– When the semolina mix is completely cooled down, flip it on a flat surface. Using  star shaped cookie cutters of different sizes start cutting out some stars.

 

– Place the stars randomly on the tomato sauce layer. Sprinkle few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese on top of each star and few drops of Extra Virgin Oil of Olive.

 

– Bake the semolina gnocchi in the preheated oven at 400F/180C for 20 minutes. And add 5 minutes in broil mode.

– Serve warm and enjoy!!