We can prepare the mushrooms the day before.

The dumplings, however, should be prepared at the moment.

Both the ricotta and the provola (or other melting cheese) should be dry, not watery. We can also use mozzarella, provided it’s from the day before and without milk whey.

The cooking time listed above refers to the sum of the cooking and boiling times of the various steps, respectively for the mushrooms and the dumplings.

Let’s start by preparing the mushrooms.

Clean the champignons, removing any traces of dirt and rotten or damaged parts.

Slice them not too thinly and transfer them to a pan without adding water or seasonings.

Cover the pan, place it on a medium burner on high heat, and wait for about a minute so they release some of their water, which we’ll discard immediately.

Place the covered pan back on the burner and, still on high heat, wait until they release a bit more water, then discard it.

Now place the mushrooms in a colander to let them drain further and dissipate excess moisture.

In the same very hot pan, add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a whole garlic clove, letting it sauté over low heat.

As soon as the garlic starts to release its aroma, remove it, add the mushrooms, raise the heat, and sauté well, stirring often.

After a couple of minutes, flavor with the wine, let the alcohol evaporate, season with salt, mix, cover, lower the heat, and let it cook for 7-8 minutes maximum, then turn off.

While the mushrooms cook, dice the smoked provola.

Cut the speck into strips or cubes, depending on whether it’s more slices or one piece.

Now let’s focus on the dumplings.

Sift the all-purpose flour into a large bowl, add the semolina and fine salt.

Add the ricotta and knead with a fork or hands until you get a firm dough that doesn’t stick to your hands.

If the ricotta is too moist and the dough is too soft or sticky, just add a teaspoon or two of all-purpose flour to dry it out.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten.

In the meantime, bring plenty of water to a boil for the gnocchi in a large pot.

Prepare a large flat plate sprinkled with semolina.

After 10 minutes, break off a piece of dough about the size of a ping pong ball.

Roll it into a stick about the thickness of a breadstick, then cut into small dumplings with a knife.

If necessary, use a pinch of semolina without overdoing it, or the dough will slide on the semolina and not allow you to elongate it into a stick.

Transfer the dumplings to a dish sprinkled with a bit of semolina (this helps dry the gnocchi and keep them separate).

Before dropping the dumplings into water, place them in a sieve to remove excess semolina.

Once the water boils, season it with coarse salt, wait for it to return to a boil, then drop the dumplings in. Stir, cover, and wait for them to float (about a minute to a minute and a half at most).

Immediately drain them well and transfer them to a soup dish.

Preheat the oven to 356°F

Add the speck, the well-drained mushrooms from any liquid seasoning, another pinch of fine salt, and almost all the provola.

Mix the ingredients and divide the preparation among the three cocottas.

Bake at medium height for about ten minutes, just long enough to melt the cheese.

Remove the cocottas and sprinkle them with the remaining provola cubes and serve them.

Bon appetit