French cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Gnocchi Parisienne

Gnocchi made from choux pastry instead of potatoes, poached and puffed up under béchamel with Gruyère in the oven.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 250 ml water
• 100 g butter
• 150 g flour
• 4 eggs
• 150 g grated Gruyère
• 40 g butter for the béchamel
• 40 g flour for the béchamel
• 500 ml milk
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Salt, white pepper

Instructions

1. Bring the water, 100 g butter and 1 tsp salt to a boil, stir in the flour all at once and dry the mixture out on the heat for 2 min, until a white film forms on the bottom of the pot.
2. Let the dough cool for 5 min, then vigorously beat in the eggs one at a time and stir in 50 g Gruyère and white pepper — the dough should fall heavily and reluctantly from the spoon.
3. Heat plenty of salted water to about 90°C, fill the dough into a piping bag and pipe thumb-length pieces directly into the water; let the gnocchi poach 4–5 min until they float to the surface.
4. Lift the gnocchi out with a slotted spoon, drain on a cloth and layer them into a buttered baking dish.
5. For the béchamel, melt 40 g butter, sweat 40 g flour lightly for 2 min, gradually stir in the milk and cook 8 min until creamy; season with Dijon mustard, nutmeg, salt and white pepper.
6. Pour the sauce over the gnocchi, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère and gratin at 200°C top/bottom heat for 20–25 min, until the surface has puffed up high and is golden brown.