First described by Boccaccio in his Decamerone, gnocchi are considered the first type of pasta ever made: a mixture of flour and water (the flour from wheat, millet, farro) shaped into round dumplings that were then cooked in boiling water.
The best-known version, made with potatoes, is fairly recent in historical terms, since potatoes did not become common in Italy until the 1800s. Gnocchi made with other main ingredients are common, like the small Sardinian malloreddus, made with semolina flour, knödel, made with bread that is a day or two old, and gnocchi di ricotta.
The strange-sounding word gnocchi traces its origin to the Latin term nucleus, from which nocchio, meaning gnarl, derived. In the dialect of the region around Venice nocchio became gnoco and from there it was an easy transition to gnocco and its plural gnocchi.
Potato gnocchi take time to make, but the result is well worth the effort. I described my recipe (derived by my mother's) in this article.
Update: this post describes potato gnocchi made with purple potatoes.
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the gnocchi audio file [mp3].
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