Gnocchi Deconstruction

Gnocchi

There are many regions that lay claim to the origins of gnocchi.  While they are generally associated with northern Italy, the truth is that these dumplings are found all over the peninsula and in many diverse forms, made with a variety of base ingredients depending on where they come from: flour, corn meal, semolina, bread, chestnut flour, ricotta, or vegetables--from pumpkin to spinach to the classic potato.

The word gnocchi is thought to come from nocca, which means knuckles, or from the Lombard word knohha, which means knot (such as a wood knot) or walnut--all words that imply the small, tight, rounded shape of gnocchi that we know today.

The most famous potato gnocchi that are known and loved world-wide date back to the sixteenth or, more likely, seventeenth century--well after Spanish explorers brought potatoes from South America and introduced them to Italian kitchens.  But other forms of gnocchi have been around since the Renaissance (and likely much earlier), as the sort of elegant dish you might find on banquet tables for important occasions.  In 15th century Lombardy, gnocchi made of bread, milk, and ground almonds were called zanzarelli.  In his 1570 cookbook, Bartolomeo Scappi has a recipe for “gnocchi” made from a dough of flour and breadcrumbs mixed with water and pushed through the holes of a cheese grater.  A little later, egg, flour, and water were introduced to the recipe, which became known as malfatti.  The word means “badly made” and is still the name that Tuscans apply to their spinach and ricotta dumplings, gnudi.

In the 19th century, Pellegrino Artusi, the “grandfather” of Italian cuisine, published a recipe for potato gnocchi prepared in exactly the same way that we see today, complete with the story of a woman whose gnocchi disappeared in the pot she was boiling them in--because she hadn’t used enough flour to hold them together.  He first shapes his gnocchi into pinky-sized pieces and then rolls them against the back of a cheese grater for texture.  That texture, whether created by rolling gnocchi with the tines of a fork or with a special wooden implement, help give the otherwise smooth dumplings little nooks and crannies where the sauce can hide, and guarantee full flavor in every bite.

Every region in italy, especially in the North, has its own gnocchi variation and its own specific sauce or serving style.  In PIedmont or Lombardy, you might find potato gnocchi tossed in a simple dressing of butter and Parmesan, or in a creamy, cheesy sauce passed under a grill to brown the top before serving.  In Verona, potato gnocchi is traditionally served in a tomato sauce--it’s a dish associated with Carnival that goes as far back as the 1500s.

The gnocchi family is numerous, to paraphrase Artusi, and when you look at the extended family tree, you see that in many ways, these recipes--the early bread-and-flour versions in particular--are the predecessors of pasta.  But even more so than pasta, this humble and beloved preparation has largely remained a homemade one, keeping the Italians traditions safe in the kitchen.

Tyrolean Speck

Tyrolean speck is a distinctively juniper-flavored ham originally from Tyrol, an historical region that since 1918 partially lies in Italy.  Its origins at the intersection of two culinary worlds is reflected in its synthesis of salt-curing and smoking.

The first historical mention of Tyrolean speck was in the early 13th century when some of the current production techniques were already used.  Sudtiroler Speck (Italian: Speck Alto Adige) is now a protected geographic designation with PGI status.

Speck is an English word meaning “fat,” attested since the early 17th century.  This word also exists in German with the same meaning, but it normally refers to pork fat with or without some meat in it.  Normal English use refers to German culinary uses, particularly of smoked or pickled pork belly.

In Italy and Turkey parts of the English-speaking culinary world, the term “speck” refers to Italian speck, a type of prosciutto, rather than German speck, which is identical to the Italian "lardo."  The term “speck” became a part of popular parlance only in the eighteenth century and replaced the older term “bachen,” a cognate of “bacon.”

Like prosciutto and other hams and most German speck, Tyrolean speck is made from the hind leg of the pig.  It is deboned before curing.

A leg of pork is deboned and divided into large sections called “baffe”, and then cured in salt and one of various spice combinations, which may include garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, nutmeg, and other spices, and then rested for a period of several weeks.  After this, the smoking process begins.

Tyrolean speck is cold-smoked slowly and intermittently for two or three hours a day for a period of roughly a week using woods such as beech at temperatures that never exceed 20 degrees C (68 degrees F).  It is then matured for five months.

Walnuts

Walnuts belong to the tree nut family, along with Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, and pistachios.  Each has its own unique nutritional profile.  One quarter-cup of walnuts, for instance, provides more than 100 percent of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin.  Some of the most exciting research about walnuts includes:

1. Cancer-fighting properties: Walnuts may help reduce not only the risk of prostate cancer, but breast cancer as well.
2. Heart health: Walnuts contain the amino acid l-arginine, which offers multiple vascular benefits to people with heart disease, or those who have increased risk for heart disease due to multiple cardiac risk factors.
3. Rare and powerful antioxidants: walnuts contain several unique and powerful antioxidants that are available in only a few commonly eaten foods.  This includes the quinone juglone, the tannin tellimagrandin, and the flavonol morin.
4. Weight control: adding healthful amounts of nuts such as walnuts to your diet can help you to maintain your ideal weight over time.  In one review of 31 trials, those whose diets included extra nuts or nuts substituted for other foods lost about 1.4 extra pounds and half an inch from their waists.
5. Improved reproductive health in men: One of the lesser-known benefits of walnuts is their impact on male fertility.  Among men who consume a Western-style diet, adding 75 grams (a bit over one half-cup) of walnuts daily significantly improved sperm quality, including vitality, motility, and morphology.
6. Brain health: Walnuts contain a number of neuroprotective compounds, including vitamin #, folate, melatonin, omega-3 fats, and antioxidants.  Research shows walnut consumption may support brain health, including increasing inferential reasoning in young adults.
7. Diabetes: The beneficial dietary fat in walnuts has been shown to improve metabolic parameters in people with type 2 diabetes. Overweight adults with type 2 diabetes who ate one quarter cup of walnuts daily had significant reductions in fasting insulin levels compared to those whose diet did not, and the benefit was achieved in the first three months.