Delia's Three-Cheese Semolina Gnocchi with Herby Salad

We have the first flop of the year...

By Chris

• Semolina
• Gorgonzola, Parmesan and Ricotta
• Eggs, Milk and Nutmeg
• Rocket salad

I think it's fair to say that this week my ambition caught up with me at last. Having only ever eaten gnocchi in restaurants I was curious to see how it was made. Delia's recipe substituted potatoes for coarse semolina. Not knowing the difference and not exactly blessed with a range of semolinas to choose from in my local Tesco, I went for fine semolina. A small, but critical, mistake.

The recipe required preparing the night before, which was a bit of a faff, but worth a go I thought. The semolina was simmered for a few minutes with milk, water, nutmeg, salt and pepper until it was 'thick enough to stand a spoon up in'. Then two eggs and a tonne of parmesan were added to thick it up further. The resultant mix was left overnight in the fridge to toughen up.

The cookie cutter wasn't really up to the job...

The next day I was meant to turn out the firm mixture onto a board and chop it up into rounds with a cookie cutter. However, the gloop that plopped out was incredibly
disappointing. I couldn't cut it at all, so I just threw it in the oven for 30 minutes and hoped for the best. I decided not to chuck the ricotta and gorgonzola on top of it, instead saving that for my emergency back-up, which was a simple three-cheese pasta.

Jamie's Herby Salad from the Wonky Summer Pasta 30-Minute Meal made for a tasty diversion, but the 'gnocchi' resembled a slightly charred yellow cowpat and tasted fairly dull. Not a recipe to be repeated by any means. 

Cheap? At £1.27 per head, yes. Worthwhile? Not at all.

Best with... A back-up plan in the wings!

Taken from... Delia Smith - How To Cook: Book Two

Helen says... So near but yet so far. One mess out of 15 isn't bad though!