Small pale oval ridged lumps sat in a heap on the dish. The waiter grated over a scattering of parmesan flakes. From the kitchen came my dish, a brightly red coloured hill of tomato sauce drenched bucatini. The waiter repeated the parmesan ritual. Why did he have to be so mean? My dining companion shook his head , "giovedi gnocchi!" (it was Thursday). I tucked into my pasta as he ate his gnocchi. He smacked his lips, "buonissimo." I didn't believe him. How could something so dull looking so simple be any good?
And so, for many years I chose to ignore a key Italian dish. Possibly memories of my British grandmother's bland Sunday dumplings, lumps of stodgy flour, were to blame as well.
Gnocchi are prepared from North to South with regional variations and different sauces. The principal ingredient can vary from semolina, potato, chestnuts, pumpkin to the basic bread dumplings, canederli of the Alto Adige.
Tradition has it that Thursday is for gnocchi, hence 'Giovedi Gnocchi'. But the saying would be incomplete without 'Venerdi Pesce, Sabato Trippa'. (Fish on Friday, Tripe on Saturday). As gnocchi are filling and calorific, they are a good preparation for a lean fish-filled Friday. On Saturdays the butchers would prepare the cuts for the plentiful Sunday lunch. Offcuts, again the leaner and more digestible as well as smellier pieces would be used on Saturday.
Thus, through thrift, parsimony and observation of Catholic tradition was no food wasted nor did anyone go hungry
Gnocchi may have originated in the Middle East but it was the Roman legions that brought them to Italy. These early gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough not unlike today's flat discs of Gnocchi alla Romana (also made with semolina).
The more widespread and popular potato gnocchi came with the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.
The basic recipe takes 700grs of mashed potatoes, 300grs of flour (type00), 40grs of parmesan and an egg all mixed together to form a dough. The dough ball is then split into smaller parts, each is rolled out into a sausage and each sausage cut up into separate little dumplings.The dumplings then need to be furrowed. Most Italian markets will sell a small furrowed palette along which to roll the little balls. However, pressing down a fork onto the soft dough will create a similar effect. The ridges are all important to capture and hold the sauce whatever it may be: tomatoes, garlic, pesto, four cheeses, chestnuts and cream, funghi porcini etc. .
Gnocchi are as versatile as any other type of pasta. They can be flavoured with herbs, truffles, cocoa, combined with any vegetable, and vary in size from itzy-bitzy gnocchetti to the ping pong balls that are the canederli.
The name, gnocchi, derives either from the Italian for knuckle (nocca) or knot (nocchio). Once the dumplings are made they can be kept for later on a semolina filled tray or plate, or tossed into boiling salted water to be poached. As soon as they float to the surface they are ready to be scooped out and tossed in whatever sauce you want.
They are not to be confused with the increasingly popular cousin gnudi (naked) a dumpling made of ricotta and parmesan usually with sage or some other herbs. They are called gnudi as they are the stuffing of ricotta stuffed pasta without the covering pasta.
As for myself, I have been won over to gnocchi.
I started out with the cute gnocchetti in a pesto sauce. Then the regular sized knuckles of potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and basil while eyeing up the aluminium trays of flat Gnocchi alla Romana that appeared in fresh pasta shops on Thursdays. Eventually I gave them a try too. They're a tad tricky to make.
My graduation is complete as I now make both potato and pumpkin gnocchi. But eyeing the future I consider extending the range chestnut gnocchi, spinach gnocchi….the gnocchi future is infinite.
Every so often I come across a curiosity. Thus, as I was checking the times of the monthly strike, I stumbled upon an article which spoke of Garbatella. I live close by. I read how the inhabitants of the area were delighted that the Fontana Della Carlotta was flowing again. A tube in her innards had broken and interrupted her flow.
Fontana Della Carlotta? I was puzzled. I'd never heard of it yet ,from what I read, it was an iconic symbol of Old Garbatella.
I went looking for it. It was as good as any an opportunity for a walk. I walked up my street across the Cristoforo Colombo where street jugglers entertained jaded drivers at the traffic lights and into Garbatella.
At the first roundabout I took a right, down the road that led towards the Circonvallazione Ostiense, Garbatella's main shopping street. On the left side I saw the characteristic low slung buildings and plant filled courtyards of Old Garbatella, on my other side were taller more recent additions to the district.
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I turned left into Via Giovanni di Capistrano, a narrow street with a graffitied orange wall down one side.
I was entering the heartland of Roma FC worship. High on one building was a red and orange plaque with the dark Roma wolf on it. Mention you favour Lazio FC here and you might not get out alive!
I didn't have to go far. The narrow road opened out onto a piazza. A sweeping staircase led down to it. It wasn't quite the Spanish Steps but for the inhabitants of the area it might as well be. This was the Scala degli Innamorati, the lovers' steps. There weren't any lovers now just a group of teenaged girls killing the tedium of a Sunday afternoon. On the piazza itself next to the steps stood a pillar, or was it a plinth? Atop it was a type of urn, lower down the pillar was a fountain. Rather small and unassuming, this was the Fontana Della Carlotta.
A woman's head with long hair ( allegedly a dark-skinned woman) was carved into the side of a pillar. The spout from which ran the water, an ugly piece of rusting metal, jutted out of her mouth. The water ran into a small travertine basin.
In times past, presumably when there were less street lights, would-be couples would gather around her or sit on the steps, engaged in various steps of courtship.
Over the years Carlotta has suffered her fair share of vandalism, her coiffe isn't quite what it once was, she's been stilled on more than one occasion but she is still going, a plucky lady in a tough city.
Drinking the water she pours is said to bring good luck - three sips, three swallows, make a wish and it'll come true.
A plaque affixed to a wall states: With the water of beautiful Carlotta saved from the damage caused by the time that passes, the history of Garbatella starts to flow again. For the inhabiatants the Carlotta is a big deal.
So who was Carlotta? The story goes that she was a beautiful, courteous (garbata) woman who would greet travellers who passed through the area when it was still part of the countryside surrounding Rome. The area became known as Garbatella as a tribute to this amiable woman. It has also been said that while this pleasant hostess existed, her name was actually Maria.
Whatever the truth to the story may be, the Fontana della Carlotta exerts attention today. When she is silent the people of Garbatella worry.
It was time to say goodbye to the old girl so I climbed up the steps. At the top were a pair of urns outside some imposing large buildings: more of the famed 'Case Popolare' that make up old Garbatella. And, as if I needed a reminder of how staunchly Roman this area is, I pass a building with a large plaque dedicated to the Roman actor Alberto Sordi. If it wasn't Totti the recipient of wide spread adoration, it was Sordi.
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| Alberto Sordi |
