Gnocchi
- For the Italian Baroque composer, please see Pietro Gnocchi.
Gnocchi (English pronunciation: /ˈnɒki/, /ˈnjɒki/; Italian: [ˈɲɔkki], singular gnocco) are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina,[1] ordinary wheat flour,[2] flour and egg,[3] flour, egg, and cheese,[4] potato,[5] bread crumbs,[6] or similar ingredients.[7][8][9]
Like many Italian dishes, there is considerable variation in recipes and names across different regions. For example, the Tuscan malfatti are a sort of flour, ricotta, and spinach gnocchi;[10] the Pugliese cavatielli are flour-based, and so on.[11]
Gnocchi are eaten as a first course (primi piatti), alternatives to soups (minestre), or pasta. They are generally home-made in Italian and diaspora Italian households. They may also be bought fresh from specialty stores. In supermarkets, industrially-produced packaged gnocchi are widely available refrigerated, dried, or frozen. Common accompaniments of gnocchi include tomato sauces, pesto, and melted butter (sometimes fried butter) with cheese.
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[edit] Origin
The word gnocchi may derive from the Italian word nocchio, meaning a knot in wood,[12] or from nocca (meaning knuckle).[13] It has been a traditional Italian pasta type of probably Middle Eastern origin since Roman times.[14] It was introduced by the Roman Legions during the enormous expansion of the empire into the countries of the European continent. In the past 2,000 years, each country developed its own specific type of small dumplings, with the ancient gnocchi as their common ancestor. In Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly Sardinia's malloreddus (although they do not contain eggs).
The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.[15] Potato gnocchi are particularly popular in Abruzzo, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Ciociaria and other provinces of Latium; they are better prepared with red potatoes[citation needed].
[edit] Regional varieties
One variety, gnocchi di pane (literally "bread lumps"), derived from the Semmelknödel, is made from bread crumbs and is popular in Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. Another variety from the latter region is spinach gnocchi.
[edit] In Croatia
Gnocchi are very popular and often served dish in coastal Croatia, typically being served as a first course or a side dish with Dalmatinska pašticada.
[edit] In France
The name is also used in France in the dish known as "gnocchis à la parisienne", a hot dish comprising gnocchi formed of choux pastry, and served with Béchamel sauce.
[edit] In Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
Because of the significant number of Italian immigrants that arrived in these countries gnocchi, ñoqui (Spanish, [ˈɲoki]) or nhoque (Portuguese, pronounced: [ˈɲɔki], ˈɲɔkɪ or iˈj̃ɔki) is a popular dish, even in areas with few Italian immigrants. There is a tradition of eating gnocchi on the 29th of each month—some people put money under their plate—to bring prosperity. In more formal Brazilian Portuguese, it is spelled gnocchi.
[edit] In the United States
The American chain restaurant Olive Garden serves gnocchi in soup.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Vincenzo Buonassisi, Il nuovo codice della pasta, Rizzoli 1985, recipe #850-853
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #831-833
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #837-838
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #839-840
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #854-857
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #877 "Al Pien... si tratta di gnocchi, delicatissimi, secondo un'antica ricetta mantovana..."
- ^ Waverley Root, The Food of Italy, 1971 passim
- ^ Luigi Carnacina, Luigi Veronelli, La cucina rustica regionale (4 vol.), Rizzoli 1966, passim
- ^ Accademia Italiana della Cucina, La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy, tr. Jay Hyams, Rizzoli, 2009, passim
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #875
- ^ Buonassisi, recipe #895
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. 1989. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/79506.
- ^ Lo Zingarelli, 2008.
- ^ Serventi, Silvano; Françoise Sabban (2002). Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food. Trans. Antony Shugaar. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 17. ISBN 0231124422.
- ^ Theisen, K. "World Potato Atlas: China - History and Overview". International Potato Center.
- Notes
- Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. gnocchi.
- Jenkins, Nancy Harmon. Flavors of Tuscany. 1998.
[edit] External links
Media related to Gnocchi at Wikimedia Commons
- Gnocchi Recipe, with video
- Gnocchi Recipe
- Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe
- Step-by-Step Illustrated Gnocchi Recipe
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