Thursday is gnocchi day in Italy! How to make these delectable potato dumplings from scratch.
Gnocchi are plural, one gnocco, two gnocchi.
Much like most of Italy's pasta - one spaghetto, two spaghetti, one fusillo, two fusilli and so forth. It might sound strange to hear, "Can I taste a fusillo?" But we do say it.
Why would you bother to make gnocchi from scratch you may ask.
And I feel the same because they're readily available to buy in so many delicious versions (chestnut and pumpkin gnocchi are my absolute favourite) plus in Italy you can find 'artigianato' gnocchi in supermarkets, meaning they're not made in a factory.
But I know so many Italian mums who would never dream of buying gnocchi, they always try to convince me to make them saying it’s as easy as pie. You can make a big batch of gnocchi because they freeze well and can be cooked from frozen for an easy meal so there’s no reason not to make them, is what they always say.
And they're right, homemade gnocchi are lusciously soft and special and delicious, there’s no doubt about it.
You'll see making them is actually surprisingly easy!
It's also a wonderful way to keep the kids entertained.
You don’t need anything particularly complicated to bring some floury fun to the kitchen on a dreary day. Potatoes, flour and an egg will keep everyone happily rolling out gnocchi sausages all afternoon, you can even get fancy with a fork or wooden gnocchi board but we never do...
and what better than homemade gnocchi for dinner when all is cleared away in the kitchen and you're left with trays and trays of gnocchi ready for the cooking.
Rumour has it that the trick to good gnocchi that don’t fall apart is the type of potato you use. Farinosa, ‘floury’ is what they also say, although some might swear by waxy, we use white potatoes and they always work well as long as you knead the dough enough.
So here goes, it’s giovedì gnocchi, ‘Gnocchi Day’, the day you'll find trays of floury potato shapes for sale by the kilo in Italian pasta shops, bakeries and rosticcerie. Once in Rome, according to an ancient poem, Thursday was Gnocchi, Friday was Fish and Saturday was Tripe.
It's Thursday, so we’re making gnocchi.
There are so many sauces which accompany the fluffy potato pillows we all know and love - gorgonzola or quattro formaggi, four cheeses is favoloso, as is ragù or pesto genovese. You can’t go wrong with a simple sugo di pomodoro, tomato sauce but there's a classic condiment that is offered as a happy option in Italian restaurants to children who are undecided about the menu and that is burro e salvia - butter and sage.
It may sound like a simple combination and an easy cop out, but to taste gnocchi burro e salvia is to love them. If you get your hands on smoked ricotta, a grating of this soft but compact cheese brings the most beautiful smoky flavour, we always have Grana Padano in our fridge so that's what we tend to use.
Find the recipe and a collection of more gorgeous primi in our new cookbook Appetito ❤️
Buon giovedì e buon gnocchi!
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