Gnocchetti with crescenza and grilled vegetables

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g soft cheese (Crescenza)
• 200 g flour
• 100 g Parmesan, grated
• 2 eggs
• 2 zucchinis
• 2 bell peppers, red
• 1 bell pepper(s), yellow
• 1 eggplant(s)
• 1 cup of sweet cream (approx. 200 g)
• n. B. saffron threads
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• Extra virgin olive oil for frying
• e.g. Parmesan, grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

Dumplings with Italian soft cheese and grilled vegetables, vegetarian

Crescenza is also known as stracchino. It is an Italian, spreadable soft cheese. To make the gnocchetti, knead the soft cheese with the flour, grated Parmesan cheese, and eggs. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and knead until a firm, homogenous dough forms. Shape the dough into several rolls with a diameter of 1.5 to max. 2 cm and cut out gnocchetti using a dough scraper or a knife. To prevent the dough from sticking, flour your work surface and your hands well. Place the gnocchetti in a floured bowl, dust with flour, and flour all over to prevent them from sticking together. Let the pasta rest while the vegetables are grilled and the sauce is prepared. For the grilled vegetables, wash, trim, and slice the zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant, and grill them on one side in a well-heated grill pan, then turn and grill on the other side. Cut the grilled vegetables into strips. For the sauce, heat olive oil in a pan, add the vegetable strips, and quickly fry on all sides. Add the cream and saffron, let them infuse well, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the gnocchetti in plenty of lightly salted water. This goes very quickly: it takes a maximum of two or three minutes for the gnocchetti to rise to the surface. Remove the pasta from the cooking water with a slotted spoon and add directly to the grilled vegetable and saffron sauce. Mix everything well but carefully, let it infuse well, divide it among plates, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve immediately. Notes: The grilled vegetables are very easy to prepare; once grilled, the rest goes very quickly. It’s pronounced like “Niocketti,” not Gnotschetti!