Thursday is Gnocchi Day in Roma!

Gnocchi is the Italian word for dumplings. The word "gnocchi" means "lump" or "knot" and is originally a Germanic word that may describe the distinctive shape of gnocchi.

Gnocchi vary from region to region throughout Italy. The most common way to prepare gnocchi is with potatoes and flour. In Rome, gnocchi are made with semolina flour, milk, and cheese and are known as gnocchi alla romana. In and around Tuscany, the gnocchi are made with spinach and ricotta and are called strozzapreti, or priest stranglers. According to popular legend, a priest choked and died after eating too quickly because the gnocchi were so delicious! In the Lombardy region of Italy, the spinach/ricotta gnocchi are called malfatti meaning "malformed" since these gnocchi are made from leftover ravioli and do not have uniform shape of other varieties. Lastly, gnocchi di pane is a popular version in the Friuli and Trentino-Atlo Adige regions and is made from bread crumbs.

Want to make your own gnocchi, check out these recipes from Epicurious:
Gnocchi alla Romana
Traditional Potato Gnocchi with a Gorgonzola sauce
Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi (Tuscan region)

My Mom's Gnocchi recipe:
5 lbs (9-10) baking potatoes (i.e. russets)
2 1/2 tsp salt
pepper
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
4 egg whites
3 3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of nutmeg

1. Pierce potatoes and bake at 400 degrees for an hour. Peel potatoes while warms and press through a potato ricer.
2. Mix potatoes, salt, pepper, baking powder, and egg whites in a large bowl. Add flour (a little at a time) and mix with hands until the mixture forms a rough ball.
3. Knead dough on a dry, lightly floured board until smooth (about 7 minutes). If using 5lbs of potatoes, separate dough at this point and do in two batches. Keep non-working dough covered.
4. With a sharp knife cut a piece of dough and roll into a rope about the thickness of your index finger.
5. Cut rope into 1 inch pieces and form slightly.
6. Boil in gnocchi in batches in salted water.

Small batch
2 lbs potatoes (about 4 lg. baking potatoes)
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1-2 egg whites
1 1/2 c flour

Toss gnocchi with sauce (tomato, butter and sage, Gorgonzola, or........)

-Ashley