Chef Juliette
Gnochi à la Romaine
Gnochi à la Romaine turns milk and semolina into tender rounds beneath a bronzed cheese crust. Cook the paste stiff, chill it completely, and the tray cuts cleanly for supper.
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Gnochi au Gratin
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2280, Gnochi au Gratin, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Walnut-size Parisian pâte à choux dumplings rise in the poaching pot, then settle beneath glossy Mornay and Parmesan until their edges are bronzed and their centers answer the finger with a spring.
Side Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
35 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Gnochi au Gratin (Parisian pâte à choux dumplings baked beneath Mornay) teaches control of texture. The one true thing is this: the water must poach, not bully. When each dumpling rises and answers a light touch with a spring, the pâte is set; everything afterward is generous sauce and color.
The source formula assumed a full professional batch, a pâtissier tending the pâte, a saucier with Mornay ready, and a salamander waiting to bronze the gratin. Your home equivalent is a one-third batch for four, two damp spoons for shaping, one poaching pot, and a moderate oven with a brief turn under the broiler only if needed. The separate hands are brigade scaffolding and can go. The pâte à choux, gentle poach, Mornay, and final gratin are the dish, and they stay.
Finished properly, the gnochi sit plump beneath an ivory sauce, their tops bronzed with Parmesan and butter, their centers tender but never pasty. Poach one tester before committing the batch. That single dumpling tells you everything.
Gnochi au Gratin belongs to the Parisian classical table, where cooks translated the Italian family of gnocchi into a distinctly French preparation built from pâte à choux, Mornay, and gratin. The spelling varies among classical books, but this is not potato gnocchi: the dumplings rise through egg and cooked flour, then finish beneath a cheese-enriched sauce. From grand kitchens the dish passed naturally to bistros and home dining rooms because its components can be prepared ahead and brought together when the table is ready.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared pâte à choux
Quantity
About 2 cups (475 ml / 400 g) Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374), one-third of the source batch and prepared to this entry's prescribed milk, salt, nutmeg, butter, flour, and egg proportions
Parmesan
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 38 g)
finely grated
Mornay sauce
Quantity
1½ cups (355 ml / 370 g)
warmed gently
Parmesan for the gratin
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 25 g)
finely grated
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
melted
water
Quantity
3 quarts (2.8 L / 2.8 kg)
fine salt for the poaching water
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared pâte à choux | About 2 cups (475 ml / 400 g) Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374), one-third of the source batch and prepared to this entry's prescribed milk, salt, nutmeg, butter, flour, and egg proportions |
| Parmesanfinely grated | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 38 g) |
| Mornay saucewarmed gently | 1½ cups (355 ml / 370 g) |
| Parmesan for the gratinfinely grated | ¼ cup (60 ml / 25 g) |
| unsalted buttermelted | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| water | 3 quarts (2.8 L / 2.8 kg) |
| fine salt for the poaching water | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •3 to 4-quart wide saucepan
- •1½ to 2-quart shallow gratin dish
- •Two teaspoons for shaping
- •Slotted spoon
- •Clean lint-free kitchen towel
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the dish
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) with a rack in the upper third. Warm the Mornay sauce over gentle heat only until it falls from a spoon in a broad ribbon; boiling can make the cheese tighten and the sauce oily. Spread about ½ cup (120 ml / 125 g) across the bottom of a shallow gratin dish.
- 2
Enrich and portion
Place the Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374) in a bowl and work in the ⅓ cup (80 ml / 38 g) Parmesan until evenly distributed. With two damp teaspoons, divide it into 16 to 18 walnut-size portions on a sheet of parchment. If the portions slump into puddles, chill the paste for 10 minutes before shaping again; it should be soft but capable of holding a mound.
- 3
Set a gentle poach
Bring the water and salt to a full boil in a wide saucepan, then lower the heat until only lazy bubbles break the surface. Slide in one tester. If it feathers into ragged threads, lift out the fragments, lower the heat further, and chill the remaining paste for 10 minutes before testing again. Ça se rattrape. A hard boil tears delicate pâte before its eggs can set.
- 4
Poach until resilient
Poach the remaining gnochi in batches of six so the water keeps its gentle movement and the dumplings have room to rise. As each reaches the surface, press it lightly with the back of the slotted spoon. Lift it when it answers with a spring rather than holding a dent; floating is the first test, resilience the second. Drain the gnochi in a single layer on a clean lint-free towel, and do not stack them.
- 5
Assemble under Mornay
Arrange the drained gnochi snugly over the sauce in one layer. Spoon over the remaining Mornay, letting a little of each dumpling remain visible, then scatter with the ¼ cup (60 ml / 25 g) Parmesan and drizzle the melted butter evenly across the top. We don't apologize for butter. Here it carries the color and protects the cheese as the gratin forms.
- 6
Form the gratin
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the Mornay bubbles around the rim and the Parmesan is evenly bronzed. This is the home execution of Gratins (No. 268): the moderate oven heats the dish through, while a 30 to 60 second turn beneath the broiler replaces the salamander only if the surface remains pale. Watch without leaving the oven. If the top colors before the sauce bubbles, move the dish to a lower rack and cover it loosely with foil. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve from the dish. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use a properly aged Parmesan and grate it finely. Coarse curls melt unevenly, while finely grated cheese disappears into the pâte and forms a close, even crust over the Mornay.
- •The tester is not ceremony. It protects the whole batch, revealing violent water or paste that needs chilling before sixteen dumplings suffer the same fate.
- •Keep the poach gentle after the initial boil. Vigorous water can make the gnochi ragged outside while leaving their centers heavy; lazy bubbles give the eggs time to set the structure evenly.
- •Serve beside roast chicken, veal, or a plainly cooked green vegetable. A dry white wine with enough freshness for the Mornay is all the table needs. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the Mornay sauce up to 2 days ahead, press parchment directly against its surface, and chill. Rewarm it gently before assembling, never allowing it to boil.
- •The gnochi can be poached and drained up to 1 day ahead. Arrange them over the base layer of Mornay, cover, and chill; add the remaining sauce, Parmesan, and butter just before baking.
- •A chilled assembled gratin may need 5 to 10 extra minutes in the oven. Judge by the bubbling edge and hot center, not the clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 215g)
Calories
500 calories
Total Fat
35 g
Saturated Fat
20 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
210 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
26 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
19 g
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