Anybody know how to make "cornbread gnocchi"?
I had some at a restaurant last night that was awesome. Been googling for a recipe, but not luck. I'm not sure if what I had was truly proper "gnocchi"...in that it seemed to be cubes of actual cornbread that had been soaked, boiled, then fried. In other words, I don't think they made a dough (as in standard gnocchi) and then just boiled it. But I could be wrong. Any ideas?
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Made a pan of cornbread...cooled it...cut it up into cubes about the size of casino dice...soaked these overnight in fridge in buttermilk, one egg and a handful of whole wheat flour. Tonight I tried two alternatives. First just straight up pan fried a few pieces in veg oil. Second, took a few pieces, dropped them in boiling water for about 4 minutes, drained them, then browned those in a bit of veg oil ( would do it in butter for company). Pretty sure the latter aporoach---i.e., boil then fry, resulted in what I had at the restaurant. Anyway, pretty damn good. Will make a sauce with tomatoes and roasted poblanos and a bit of feta and serve as an app one of these days.
I'mean making a pan of cornbread tonight. Will soak it in buttermilk, eggs and flour after it cools...then mess with it and see what happens. Will let y'all know.
1) These so-called gnocchi might reflect the South Carolina origins of the owner & the claim of a Southern menu. Hush puppies are basically a deep-fried fritter of cornmeal batter. In this case, they boosted them with bacon and chard (yes Southern), goat cheese, & smoky tomato (not so Southern).
2) Other option is that these are deep-fried variations on Mexican cornbread, as they sell lots of Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes on a menu called From the Deeper South.
3) But if either of these guesses is right, why call the dish gnocchi, which has a different history, composition, method...
My guess is that the restaurant chef has taken artistic liberty in the naming of the dish, and not made anything that is faithful to the traditional "gnocchi" definition.
Btw, gnocchi is not categorically cooked in water. Classic semolina Gnocchi alla Romana is baked, and some version of it is believed to well predate potato/boiled varieties. (Potatoes didn't arrive in Europe until late 16th C.) These definitions are rarely as rigid as we often propose.
Maybe what you had was made with that cooking method, but with polenta - i.e., cornmeal - instead of semolina? Though that wouldn't have the airy texture of cornbread. (Btw, pretty sure the Gourmet column was called "You Asked for It.")
But why not ask the restaurant (owner and/or chef) for the recipe?
One of the food magazines (I think the late lamented Gourmet) used to have a feature where it published those restaurant recipes that had so impressed the guests that they wanted to make them at home.
I've even gotten them myself, as an average consumer, by asking the restaurant...e.g. an excellent Ancho Chocolate Crème Brulee from The Church Restaurant in Stratford, Ontario.