Gnocchis à la Parisienne
This dish is considered humble fare, and one you would never see in a restaurant. Hence it's largely unknown to folks outside of France. Paule Caillat gave me her family recipe, to which I made a few changes (authorized, of course). The dumplings are made of pâte à choux dough, similar to that used for profiteroles.
They're partially cooked by poaching them first, then baking, where they'll puff up gloriously before settling down, waiting to be scooped up from under a blanket of browned cheese. This is a pretty rich dish; serve it with a simple green salad.
Add 1 cup (130g) diced ham or cooked bacon cubes to the dish, distributing them over the bottom layer of béchamel before placing the gnocchi in the baking dish. Or put some coarsely chopped, sautéed arugula, kale, mustard greens, or radicchio under the gnocchi.
