L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 19 L'Italo-Americano ITALIAN SECTION | Verona's Ancient Gnocchi Bash, Still Alive and Well C arnevale in Italy is a farewell to winter and a delirious celebration of Spring and all things delicious and forbidden. Every city or town has its own emblematic festival foods that are imbued with symbolic meaning. Naples is devoted to elaborate versions of lasagne al forno, Ivrea to big public bean feasts (fagiolate). Venice revels in ethereal fried pastries the locals call galani. Verona, on the other hand, exalts potato gnocchi when, on the last Friday of carnivale, it erupts into Venerdì Gnoccolare ("Gnocchi Friday"). The titular head of the festivities is Il Papà del Gnocco, a gnome-like gnocchi king elect- ed every year for the occasion. Bearing a scepter on which is impaled a giant gnocco and wearing the colors of potato dumplings and meat sauce, he leads a raucous parade of cos- tumed locals on horseback, bands, minstrels, acrobats on stilts, merrymakers, floats lam- pooning politicians and clerics, and carts filled with food through the ancient city streets. The crowd winds up in Piazza San Zeno where they are joined by the rest of the townspeople for a public gnocchi pig-out. For those not familiar with Verona history, Piazza San Zeno is the site of a battle that took place in A.D. 489 when the Goth king, Theodoric, defeated bar- barian armies, winning sover- eignty for the city. The king gave his subjects the legions of slain horses, which they quickly butchered and marinated in wine and aromatics for many days. The result was pastissada, a ragù of horsemeat (make it with beef, buffalo or venison), per- fumed with the Valpolicella or JULIA DELLA CROCE Amarone wine of Verona. How to describe the sauce? As the Veronese would say, "Veronesissimi"—very, very Veronese! As for the gnocchi, while originally, they were made from nothing more than flour and water, today they are based on potatoes. So addicted are the people of Verona to their potato dumplings that they have coined a word for the aftereffects of eat- ing too many of them: GNOC- COLONITÀ, "gnocchi-ism." The Dumpling and The Sauce Commercially made potato gnocchi, which are typically leaden, give the scrumptious dumpling a bad name. Those of Verona are fluffy and light, the result of making them by hand using older potatoes that have a lower water content. The less LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES flour used, the lighter the gnoc- chi. For the recipe, go to http://juliadellacroce.com/fork- tales1/2011/03/07/carnevale- gnocchi-friday-in-verona-2/ The instructions for the pastissada follow. Have it ready before making the gnocchi. Pastissada For 4 people Recipe from Veneto: Authentic Recipes from Venice and the Italian Northeast, by Julia della Croce (Chronicle Books, 2002) · 3 tablespoons unsalted but- ter 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil · 1/4 pound pancetta, minced · 1 large clove of garlic, smashed · 1 onion, chopped · 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped · 1 celery stalk, including leaves, chopped · 1 bay leaf · scant 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves · 1-1/2 pounds ground beef, bison, or venison · 1/2 pound chicken giblets, trimmed of fat and membranes, chopped · 2/3 cup Valpolicella, Amarone, or other good dry red wine · 3 tablespoons tomato paste 3-1/2 cups canned peeled plum tomatoes in their own juice, chopped · 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste freshly ground white or black pepper 1. In a large saucepan, warm the butter with the oil over medi- um-low heat. When it is hot, add the pancetta and sauté until gold- en, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in the gar- lic, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, coriander, and cloves and sauté without browning until the vegetables are well softened, 12 to 15 minutes. 2. Add the ground meat and the giblets to the pan, using a wooden spoon to break them up. Turn the meats over to sauté it evenly, cooking until it is lightly colored, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in the wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and sauté gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. 3. Cover the pan partially and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 1-½ hours. If it seems to be drying out, add a few tablespoons of water as needed to moisten. Remove the bay leaf and fish out the garlic. Serve the meat sauce over freshly made potato gnocchi. Eat at once. Ahead-of-time note: Pastissada can be made up to a day or two in advance of using it. When it is done, allow it to cool, cover, and refrigerate. Warm over low heat and serve. Julia della Croce is a print & broadcast journalist and James Beard award-winning cookbook author, cooking teacher, culinary consultant & recipe developer. You can visit her on her website, www.juliadellacroce. com and blog, http://julia dellacroce.com/ forktales1/ Connect on Facebook: Juliadella Croce - chef & foodwriter Twitter: @juliadella croce Potato gnocchi with pastissada | Credit: Copyright Nathan Hoyt/Forktales, 2016 Il Papà del Gnocco. Credits: Luigi Ceranto - PSC Verona

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