Friday, January 14, 2011

FFwD - Gnocchi la Parisienne



The opening photo says it all! Yes, when I saw that this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Gnocchi a la Parisienne, was effectively dough balls in white sauce and cheese, I felt slightly green. This is a dish that never in a million years would I have chosen to make by myself.

However, the food adventurer in me stepped up to the plate and made it anyway, and you know what? It ain't half bad. Gnocchi a la Parisienne is really just mac and cheese with balls of boiled dough instead of boiled pasta, and it tastes just fine - sure, a little on the nursery food side, like mac and cheese, but seriously not bad. It would be perfect as a midnight snack after coming home from a hard night out.

The bechamel sauce was rather thick, so I found it difficult to spread over my dough balls, but overall, this is a relatively easy dish to make. As I didn't want to eat this for the rest of the week, I cut the recipe down to "perfect for two" size.

Here are my "attractive" dough balls just after boiling - the dough is very sticky and stuck to the spoon that I was shaping the balls with, hence the odd shapes:

This is the other major component of the dish - bechamel sauce:

And here is the finished dish after baking - scary, isn't it!


To see what the other FFwD members thought of this dish, check out the LYL section on the website.

I finish with a quick message to the people of Brisbane, who are currently affected by major floods - my thoughts are with you, and hope that you stay safe.

at

21 comments:

  1. KayteJanuary 14, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    Well now I am a little more inspired. I was trying to envision how all this was going to go, so having your process photos is great...thank you! Might rally up tomorrow to get this done, might be on Sunday...I have been a very late poster most of the time, oh, well, my goal is just to do it. These actually look interesting and good to me...anything with cheese, and I'm there!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Blonde DuckJanuary 14, 2011 at 7:22 AM

    I've never tried gnocche...

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElaineJanuary 14, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    I didn't think that it is already Friday where you live-I was just thinking about you and hoping you weren't affected by the flooding. So glad that you're ok. My heart goes out to everyone there affected.

    Your gnocchi looks great! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I also liked it, but the next day, but it won't replace Mac 'n cheese for me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gloria BakerJanuary 14, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    these gnocchi look delicious and I love them Cake Law! gloria

    ReplyDelete
  5. FlourchildJanuary 14, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    I think im going to pass on this..I was going to make it but got busy and now Im to tried..looks interesting!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cher RockwellJanuary 14, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    They were a bit ugly, weren't they? But I found the overall flavor very good.

    Our thoughts are with everyone "Down Under" affected by the recent weather. Hope all is well with you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  7. adeleJanuary 14, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    *chuckle* I've definitely made my share of recipes that didn't photograph too well, but were pleasing to the palate.

    Are these gnocchi made with pate a choux rather than potatoes? They look different to the vegetable gnocchi I've made.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CakelawJanuary 14, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Hi Adele, yes, it is pate a choux. Very different!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Welcome to our crazy blessed lifeJanuary 14, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    My dough balls were not very pretty either. :) Glad you stepped up to the plate and made this anyway!

    ReplyDelete
  10. IvyJanuary 14, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    I've never heard of the French version of gnocchi. They do sound delicious with the bechamel.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    I'm glad to read that someone else also ended up with thicker sauce! I had to spread mine in the pan as well. But, your dish turned out way better than mine! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Conor @ Hold the BeefJanuary 14, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    Hehe, I think this would be PERFECT for a post boozy night out :D

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lorraine @ Not Quite NigellaJanuary 14, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    Oooh I've had this dish at a restaurant in Sydney and I died and went to heaven. it was SO good! :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. Walnuts and HoneyJanuary 14, 2011 at 11:09 PM

    Gnocchi is delisicious. One of my closest friends is VERY (comically almost) italian, and his mother is even more so. She made the most deliscious Gnocchi in a tomato sauce for sunday dinner... was so good. too me ages to figure out what it ws made of. Now i can make my own, thanks a bunch :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nutmeg NannyJanuary 15, 2011 at 4:00 AM

    This looks soooo delicious...yum!

    ReplyDelete
  16. StephJanuary 15, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    Oh, I agree...perfect stuff to eat after a late night of drinking...would soak up all the alcohol. Probably would have no hang over at all! Thanks for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Chef BeeJanuary 15, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Gnocchi can be tricky. You did an amazing job.

    Plan B

    ReplyDelete
  18. stefJanuary 15, 2011 at 6:07 PM

    Yum. Your post reminded me of that episode of the gilmore girls where mac and cheese was given a fancy name to appease one of the characters snooty parents.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    Hahaha, if I had read your post first before making the dish I may not want to attempt it! The dish was an anti-climax for me too but I'm glad I made it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Caked CrusaderJanuary 17, 2011 at 7:44 PM

    Sounds great to me - I'm a sucker for anything with lots of cheese!

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Your description is spot on - I enjoyed the dish, but not really enough to make it again.

    The floods in Brisbane sound terrible. I hope people are coping and safe in the aftermath.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping by!