Chnéffléné

I saw this dish on the TV with Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo travelling around Italy. In the Valle D'Aosta in the Italian Alps a 92 year nonna called Mercedes cooked a traditional dish from the Walser community. The small dumplings in a cheese sauce looked so amazing that I had to try it myself at home.

Ingredients
serves 4

for the dumpings
500g flour
2 eggs
500ml milk
pinch of nutmeg

for the fonduta (cheese sauce)
400g alpine cheese such as Fontina (Toma is traditionally used but I found Le Saint Mont Des Alpes that was suitable for vegetarians)
4 eggs yolks
splash of milk
pepper

Method

Mix together the flour and eggs, gradually adding the milk to make a batter. Add a good pinch of nutmeg. Leave in the fridge for half an hour for the nutmeg to infuse the batter.

Then, in a large glass bowl over boiling water add the cheese, a splash of milk and gently whisked egg yolks. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the cheese has melted,  adding a little milk to further loosen it and it becomes a sauce. Season with a pinch of pepper.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Pour the batter into a colander and push it through the holes into the boiling water. Add a little milk to the batter if it has become too thick.  

The pasta dumplings will cook in 2 - 3 minutes.  It may take longer to push all the batter through the colander so it maybe worth cooking and serving it in batches.

To serve, sieve out the dumplings, add to the cheese sauce and stir well. Grate a little nutmeg on top.