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Gnocchi are not only a delicious Mediterranean dish, but the culture behind them is so rich that cooking and eating them is as much a pleasure for the palate as it is for the learning appetite.

Although the most common version known around the world and in Italy are made from potatoes, there is also Gnocchi Alla Romana made from semolina, Cannederli a typical dish from north Italy which is made from bread crumbs and similar to Knödel, which is a side dish common in Germany and Austria.

There are types of Gnocchi big and small, simple and stuffed with all kinds of fillings, and often mixed with colored vegetables not only to enrich their flavor and nutritional value, but also to make them look nicer.

Although typically Italian, it is also traditional in countries with Italian influence like Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. And it is precisely there (or at least in Argentina, as far as I know) where there is a curious tradition of eating Gnocchi on the 29th day of each month.One of the possible origins of this tradition comes from the Veneto, the Italian northeastern Region where Venice is situated. In the 8th century, a pilgrim doctor named Pantaleone starving in his journey on a 29th was receieved by contadini (farmers) to share their bread based poor meal and, in return, Pantaleone predicted a year of great crops and fishing that became true. Pantaleone is an important Saint of Venice, although St Marcus is the actual patron of the city.

Being a cheap food, Gnocchi also has a background as Cucina Povera (the “cuisine” of the poor) meaning that many of the variations of it were made out of the necessity to overcome food and money shortage, rather than gourmet projects.

One of the things that I like about Cucina Povera is that a daily reinvention of the dish is already part of the culture behind it. So, following the Cucina Povera spirit, I decided to create my own version of Broccoli Gnocchi.

Broccoli Gnocchi with Cheese sauce

Ingredients for the gnocchi

• 200g (7 Oz) of broccoli
• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of flour

Directions for the gnocchi

1. Chop the broccoli in pieces and boil or steam until tender,
2. Cut the potatoes in pieces and boil them until tender,
3. Smash the potatoes and let them reach room temperature or slightly above,
4. Pass the broccoli through the food processor or chop it in very small pieces,
5. Save about a spoon of grated broccoli for decoration and mix the rest with the potatoes,
6. Add the egg and the flour, add more flour if needed, but don’t let it become too dry, ideally it should stick to the hand,
7. Put flour on a clean surface and roll the mix to form long and slightly thick pieces,
8. Cut them into small pieces and cook them in abundant boiling water, the Gnocchi are going to sink, but they’ll float as soon as they are ready, collect them from the surface and prepare them to serve.

Ingredients for the sauce

• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 50g (~2 Oz) of grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Directions for the sauce

1. Mix well the flour with the cold or room-temperature milk,
2. Add the salt and pepper,
3. Cook it on low flame mixing slowly and constantly until it starts to thicken,
4. Add the grated cheese and mix until it melts and pour over the Gnocchi,
5. Add the extra broccoli you saved for decoration.

Serves: 2/3

Rice is one of my favorite foods. True, no kidding! It is simple to cook, it can be cooked in a variety of ways and despite its rather plain taste, has a nice texture and goes well with pretty much all kinds of food.

I must confess I don’t know the origin of this recipe, when I was a kid my grandmother used to cook it very often and I learned from her. This Soufflé is very light in calories, delicious and can be served as a side dish (or “contorno”, as they call it here in Italy), or can be topped with all kinds of sauces or garnished with roasted vegetables. You name it.

The Soufflé

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• About 50ml of olive oil
• 2 cups of uncooked rice
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Two eggs
• Salt
• Bread crumbs

Directions

Cook the rice in salty water and then let it reach room temperature before you proceed. You can also use leftover rice, if you have it already.

Chop the onion very finely with the food processor. Put the olive oil to heat in pan on a low flame and lightly fry the minced garlic and the onion. Whey they start to become golden in color turn off the flame and add the rice. Mix it well and add the eggs and mix again adding the flour.

Grease an oven tray with a thin layer of oil and cover it with a thin layer of bread crumbs. Add the Soufflé mix and cover with a thin layer of bread crumbs.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at about 180°C (356°F) until it’s golden in color.

The sauce

You are free to use any sauce you like but in my opinion a red sauce would probably go better than a Bechamel. You can also have it plain, with no sauce at all, which I love.

This time, I wanted to do a vegetarian Bolognese sauce. This is the recipe for the one in the picture.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups of TSP/TVP (Textured Soy Protein)
• Soy Sauce
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Water
• Plain tomato sauce

Directions

I usually like to add vinegar and and soy sauce instead of using plain water to rehydrate TSP. Put the TSP in a small pan with a little vinegar, soy sauce and some drops of water and put it on a low flame for about a minute. Add water as needed so the TSP rehydrates but doesn’t soak.

After the TSP is ready, add the tomato sauce and keep mixing on low flame until hot. Serve on top of individual servings.

Now, a confession. I always make more than I’m going to eat because I have a craving for eating this Soufflé plain and at room temperature hours later. A must try!

It’s winter here in the north of Italy, and nothing is better than a soup in cold weather.

I know some people associate soup, especially vegetable soup, with bad memories, like being sick, or just as a nutritious but untasty meal, yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

This soup was invented by my wife a couple of years ago when I actually fell sick, and it was in summertime, but it was so delicious that I anxiously started to wait for winter to have the proper environment for it.

This soup is extremely easy to do.

Creamy vegetable soup

Ingredients

• 1 big Carrot
• 150 grams of Broccoli
• 2 Tomatoes
• 2 medium Potatoes
• 1 small red Bell Pepper
• 1 small yellow Bell Pepper
• Half an Onion
• Chopped Garlic

Directions

Boil for about 30 minutes in just enough water with salt and a little of extra virgin olive oil. Pass everything through the blender or the food processor, including the cooking water. Serve topped with chives and parsley.

Keep in mind that when you boil vegetables, part of the nutrients dissolve in the water, so if you put too much and have to dump a part of it, you’ll be dumping part of the nutrients as well. It is always better to add more boiling water later, if needed.

Also, there is no magic on the combination on these ingredients, you can change proportions, add a different one or take away one from the list. Just keep in mind that the potato is the one responsible for the creamy texture.

Have fun, and you are totally welcome to leave us your comments and add your picture to the Mediterrasian Flickr Group.