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The Italian word gnocco means “a stupid person.” This induced some food writers to declare that gnocchi, the dish, is responsible for the association. But gnocchi are anything but a stupid dish.

Therefore today all gnocchi made of flour and water are considered “pasta” while all dumplings made of different ingredients are called gnocchi. Gnocchi can be made with the most varied ingredients, such as squash, bread, and semolina flour; and they can be flavored mixing the dough with spinach, saffron, and even truffles. They are boiled in water or broth and like pasta they can be dressed  with many sauces such as pesto, tomato, butter and cheese.

Other traditional types of gnocchi include the Roman recipe for “semolina gnocchi” topped with cheese and baked, and the “gnocchi gnudi” (naked gnocchi” from Tuscany made of ricotta cheese and spinach.

Today gnocchi are primarily made with potatoes, which has become traditional in Italy. In spite of the long description, gnocchi are very easy to prepare. They can be dressed with many sauces, but are especially good with pesto,  Amatriciana sauce, Ragu', four cheeses, butter and fresh tomato sauce, or very simply butter and sage as in our presentation. The taste of the butter - sage dressing is very delicate and will enhance the taste of the potato dumplings. They are also one of the most refined dishes, worthy of the most sophisticated menus.

These small dumplings are one of the oldest preparations in the history of food, recorded as far back as cookbooks of the thirteenth century. In a fragment of a book of the 1300s there is a recipe for gnocchi written in the Tuscan dialectal language (1).

“If you want gnocchi” reads the recipe, “take some cheese and mash it, then take some flour and mix with egg yolks like if you make dough. Place on the fire a pot of water and when starts boiling place the mixture on a board and slide them in the pot with a spoon. And when they are cooked place them on the plates and top them with a lot of grated cheese.”

Since Gnocchi consist of dough simply shaped in small dumplings and they don’t need any special skill or technique for flattening or cutting the dough, they are probably even older than pasta. The original flour and water mixture for gnocchi is still used today in many regional recipes in Italy, where they take different names and shapes.

In fact Gnocchi in general have a very close link with pasta, and sometimes it is difficult to tell apart what is to be considered pasta and what is gnocchi. For example the orecchiette from Apulia region are formed from a small dumpling of pasta pressed to obtain a “hear” shape, or the troffie from Liguria are made by rolling a piece of dough around a stick, traditionally dressed with pesto sauce.

Gnocchi gnudi
(naked gnocchi) from Tuscany made of ricotta cheese and spinach

To make potato gnocchi and achieve the best results, it is important to choose the right type of potato. The potato needs to be floury, with minimum water content. The best are old Russet potatoes, low in water and high in starch. Round (white or red) or Yukon potatoes would be too waxy, which would make the gnocchi either too heavy or too gummy, or would cause them to break apart in the boiling water. The addition of egg to the dough, not always necessary, serves the purpose of holding the preparation together better.  The choice of the right potato potentially makes the use of the eggs optional.

The potatoes can be baked in the oven, but more often are boiled. In this case do not peel them but boil them with the skin on. This will avoid absorption of excess water. For the same reason, don’t break or pierce them. Too much water will cause the preparation to absorb too much flour and make the gnocchi too heavy. Potatoes for gnocchi can also be baked or cooked in the microwave.

Choose potatoes free of green spots, sprouts, and “eyes”. Remove them from the potatoes if they are present because they can be toxic. Peel the potatoes while they are still hot. Don’t add egg if you are confident of the result: the dough will be softer. Don’t overwork the dough and don’t add too much flour.

Gnocchi will not keep for long after they are prepared and they must be cooked soon. They can be kept covered on a floured cloth for few hours. Soon after they may start releasing their moisture content and become gummy and sticky. Placing them in the refrigerator will not help since the humidity present there may cause additional damage.

Gnocchi instead can be easily frozen. Drop frozen gnocchi directly in the boiling water without defrosting: they will be ready when they surface like indicated in the recipe.

The CIA (Culinary Institute of America) classifies potatoes in three basic varieties:

Idaho and Russet potatoes, also known as “bakers,” are high in starch and low in moisture. Therefore, after being cooked they are more granular, floury, and dry. They are preferred for mashed potatoes, gnocchi, croquettes, frying, and baking. Dryness and starch content increase with aging.

All-purpose or “Chef’s” potatoes (Yukon Gold are part of this category) have moderate amounts of starch and moisture. They are preferred for salads, scalloped preparations, casseroles, and soups.

New potatoes (Round White, Round Red, Irish) generally are smaller in size and have low starch and high water content. They are good for boiling, steaming, and salads, due to their natural sweet flavor.

(1) O.Redon, F.Sabban, S.Serventi. A tavola nel Medioevo, Laterza 1999.

Potato gnocchi
Dressed with tomato meat sauce, are one of the best combinations.

Scroll down for tips
how to make perfect gnocchi

History, origins, tips

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