Fall

Indulgent Gnocchi Gratin

by:
December 21, 2009
4
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main (but trust me, you'll regret it later)
Author Notes

Next week, I'm moving across the country. This past week, we had a huge snow storm. Suffice to say, my roommate and I needed some delicious comfort food, for at least 27 reasons. We bought gnocchi at the fancy scmancy gourmet store nearby, a few basics, a few vegetables, and a couple of pieces of meat, and hunkered down for the weekend. Clearly, we bought too much food, as I'm still cooking with it tonight. But while the storm may be over, the need for indulgent food isn't. So here's perhaps the most over the top way that gnocchi has ever been made. But it's so, totally worth it. —Helen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 package of premade gnocchi
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup warm milk (I use the microwave)
  • 3/4 cup loosely packed grated cheese (I use a blend of parm, guyere, and mild cheddar. you could use anything.)
  • 2 tablespoons shredded parm
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. In a sauce pan, melt the butter. Just as it melts, sprinkle the flour over it. Whisk these together to form a roux, and then add the warmed milk, whisking as you go. Let it cook for 2 minutes to thicken up, whisking all the while. Congratulations. You've made bechamel sauce.
  3. When you've finished the bechamel, drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. Cook for 90 seconds, and drain. Add these to a small gratin dish. Sprinkle the blended cheese over the gnocchi. Drizzle the bechamel over the cheese. Sprinkle the top with the grated parm.
  4. Slip this into the oven for roughly 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top has started to brown, and has formed a delicious crispy crust. Set aside for 10 minutes before you eat it, or you will no longer have taste buds, they will have burned off. Enjoy.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • mariaraynal
    mariaraynal
  • lwilliamson
    lwilliamson

2 Reviews

lwilliamson March 1, 2022
This recipe is a wonderful, comforting dish! I forgot to add salt (oops) but added some on top when serving. Next time I make it, I think I’ll add in some freshly grated nutmeg.
 
mariaraynal December 30, 2009
Um, yum. Best of luck, Helen!