SC - Homemade period noodles/pasta

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

>I'd have to check which reference it came from, but I
>also have a great recipe for period gnocci.  Instead
>of potatos, they are based on flour and cheese.  In
>camp, we sit around the pot of boiling water with our
>spoons and drop the dough in to the pot.  As they
>rise, we fish them out, sprikle a little hard cheese
>and have at!  I'll check for the reference if anyone
>wants.
>
>M. Elenore Armstrong

OK, here's the recipe...

The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy
Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban & Silvano Serventi
translated by Edward Schneider

Chapter: Soups and Pasta: Potages
Recipe 9. Cheese Gnocchi
p. 63-64

If you want some gnocchi, take some fresh cheese and mash it, then 
take some flour and mix with egg yolks as in the making migliacci. 
Put a pot full of water on the fire and, when it begins to boil, put 
the mixture on a dish and drop it into the pot with a ladle. And when 
they are cooked, place them on dishes and sprinkle with plenty of 
grated cheese. (from Grammento di un libro di cucina del sec. XIV)

Modern Recipe
12 servings
1-1/4 lb. cream cheese (600 g.)
1-1/2 cups flour (200 g.)
6 egg yolks
6 to 8 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt

Mash the cream cheese into a creamy paste; if it is too stiff, force 
it through a sieve. With your hand, mix in the flour. Add salt to 
taste and blend in the egg yolks, one by one. Continue kneading to 
form a smooth mixture, neither too firm nor too soft.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and lower the heat to a 
simmer. Put the cheese mixture on a plate and drop half-teaspoonfuls 
of the mixture into the simmering water. It is quicker for two people 
to do this simultaneously.

Cook for a few minutes, until the gnocchi rise to the surface of the 
water. Drain and turn into a heated serving dish. Sprinkle generously 
with grated parmesan and serve immediately.

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My Comments
i seriously doubt the original used "cream cheese". The women's 
magazine version used cottage cheese and i have used ricotta. I 
suspect Farmer Cheese or Pot Cheese might also work, but they're a 
bit dry and might need moistening with some cream. I had some Queso 
de Burgos in Spain, a kind of spongey fresh white cheese rather like 
uncut curds, and it sure seemed like it would be suitable. The French 
"Fromage Frais" is rather like sour cream and, i think, unsuitable. 
So you have to weight the virtues of various "fresh cheeses". Maybe a 
Mexican Queso Fresco would also work...

Anahita al-shazhiyya