The tradition of eating gnocchi on the 29th of each month began as a day attributed to the Italian Catholic Saint Pantaleon, who is believed to have granted many miracles. Later, when salaried workers began to be paid on the first of each month, gnocchi became a popular dish for using up leftover eggs and flour before payday. In Argentina, public sector workers are even nicknamed ’ñoquis’ (gnocchis in Spanish), meaning that they only turn up to work to collect their monthly paycheck. Argentines place a banknote under each steaming plate of gnocchis to welcome good fortune for the coming month.
Why are gnocchis, an Italian dish, so sacred to Argentine cuisine and traditions? During the late-nineteenth century to the outbreak of WWI, a mass wave of European migrants arrived at Argentina’s shores during the country’s economic boom. An estimated 6.6 million migrants reached Argentina between 1850 and 1930, of whom Italians and Spaniards were the most prominent nationalities. Although only half of the arrivals settled across the Atlantic, Argentina was transformed into a country of migrants, like the US. However, the effect of migration had an even more pronounced effect on Argentine cuisine and culture than in the US since Argentina received a greater number of migrants relative to its native population. Among these migrants included millions of Italians who brought some of Argentina’s most-loved foods today including pizza, pasta, and gnocchi.
Today, on 29th of each month, families can be seen getting together and rolling gnocchi dough on the table. Some restaurants only sell gnocchis for the day or serve specials. Gnocchis are Italian dumplings made with potatoes, eggs, and flour and rolled into little balls. They can be served with a humble tomato sauce (known as ‘tuco’ in Argentina) or creamy béchamel and topped with grated parmesan cheese. In northern Argentina, the more abundant cassava (yuca)- an earthy and nutty root vegetable- is used instead of potato. Gnocchis are quick, easy, and cheap to make but the hack is to ensure that the texture of the dough is neither too thick nor too light so that it disintegrates when it is boiled. Here’s our easy and speedy recipe for homemade potato gnocchi:
Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe
Ingredients:
1kg potatoes
3 large beaten eggs
300g plain flour (this is an approximate amount depending on the texture of the potatoes)
Method:
- Peel, chop, and boil the potatoes.
- Mince the potatoes with a potato ricer onto a floured work surface.
- Gather the potatoes into a pile and make a well in the middle. Fill the well with the beaten egg and sprinkle some flour on top. Bring everything together with your hands, adding more flour as you go along to reach the perfect doughy texture. You need to keep kneading quickly and carefully to reach the same light texture as pastry.
- You should now have a soft and pliable dough. Roll into thin tubes and cut into thumb-nail long pieces. You can shape the gnocchi with the back of a fork to create some grooves where the potato dumplings will soak up the pasta sauce.
- Place the gnocchi in boiling water and cook for 2 minutes until they float to the top.
- Serve with your favourite homemade or shop-bought sauce and parmesan.
During the current tough times, the meaning of gnocchi day becomes more important than ever. Why not whip up a delicious plate of steaming gnocchi this month and enjoy the simple things in life? For me, gnocchis are best served with some guitar playing, a Disney marathon, or a nice hot bubble bath! How will you be celebrating gnocchi day? Let us know in the comments.
