Semolina dumplings with swede sauce

Ingredients

500 ml milk
100 g butter
salt, white pepper
pinch of nutmeg
140 g semolina (durum wheat)
2 eggs
1 tbsp corn starch
80 g Gorgonzola (or other blue cheese)
50 g shallots, finely chopped
100 g potatoes, peeled and chopped
300 g swedes, peeled and chopped
2 slices fresh ginger
30 g butter
2 tsp caster sugar
400 ml vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
250 ml cream
handful flat-leaf parsley
salt
pinch of nutmeg
(optional: 70 g butter, 50 g ground hazelnuts, 150 g breadcrumbs)

Method

For the dumplings: in a saucepan, bring milk, butter salt, pepper and nutmeg to the boil. Add semolina while whisking to obtain a smooth mixture, reduce heat strongly and let simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add eggs, mix well. Add corn starch, mix well. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for a few hours.
For the swede sauce: in a saucepan, melt butter over moderate heat. Add shallots, potato, swede and ginger. Sprinkle over the sugar and sweat for a few minutes while stirring. Add stock and cream, salt and nutmeg. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat slightly and simmer for about 30 minutes until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat, remove ginger slices, add parsley leaves, blend to a smooth consistency, pass through a fine-meshed sieve. Adjust thickness as preferred and season to taste.
For the dumplings: in a large saucepan, bring salted water to the boil. Divide the semolina mixture into 8 portions and form 8 flat patties. Place a piece of Gorgonzola in the middle of each, fold patties around the cheese and form into 8 round dumplings (works best with wet hands). Glide the dumplings into the boiling water, watch until the dumplings rise to the surface, then simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from water, drain well.
Optional (but very nice, if ‘bits’ are tolerated; otherwise just omit) - buttery crumbs to coat the dumplings: melt butter in a small frying pan, add ground hazelnuts and breadcrumbs. Gently roast for a few minutes until mixture turns golden, remove from heat immediately (burns easily), roll dumplings in the buttery crumbs before serving. Serve dumplings in a bed of swede sauce.