1 of 2 Gnoque — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo Gnoque — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo
According to legend, every 29th day is when you eat gnocchi. Despite its Italian origin (the name comes from gnocchi), eating gnocchi on the 29th of every month is a tradition that has become stronger in South America, brought by immigrants who came mainly from Brazil and Argentina (hence the custom typical there). our brotherly neighbors).
🍝 The dish called “lucky gnocchi” must traditionally be served every 29th. In 2024, since it is a leap year, the custom can be performed in the 12 months of the year.
🤔 And what is the origin of the tradition? It is important to emphasize here: this is a legend, a popular belief. This means that the story can have different variations and versions. The most important one goes back to Saint Pantaleon, a Turkish doctor who lived as a pilgrim in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy. The one who explains this is Simone Paratella, a chef from the Italian city of Alba he has a restaurant in Brazil and his family is from Veneto.
“Saint Pantaleon came hungry to the house of the farmer who was cooking gnocchi. Together with the group, he prayed for the success of this year's harvest, ate and left. Afterwards, the homeowner’s wife found gold coins under the dishes.”
💰 The episode would have taken place on the 29th. Therefore, for those who believe in it, the superstition of placing a bill or coin under the gnocchi bowl on the 29th of each month was created. There are also other variations of the legend, such as that you have to eat seven balls of gnocchi while standing (but always on the 29th).
“Back then there were no potatoes, just flour gnocchi,” explains Simone.
Where it comes from: Potatoes “sleep” for months and only their granddaughters go to the market
🧑🍳 And what does a gnocchi recipe look like? The answer varies (a lot). There are pumpkin gnocchi, cassava gnocchi, semolina gnocchi, with egg in the dough, without egg in the dough, drizzled with red sauce or other types of sauce, etc. it all depends on the region and local customs. But in both Italy and Brazil the potato version is the most common.
According to Simone, there is a saying in Italy that says: “Gnocchi si fanno con le patate vecchie” “Gnocchi are made from old potatoes,” freely translated from Italian.
2 of 2 Archive image shows a gnocchi dish Photo: Eulâmpio Vianna Neto Archive image shows a gnocchi dish Photo: Eulâmpio Vianna Neto
“When the potato begins to wilt, it loses its water. Then it becomes lighter and absorbs less flour. And then it becomes sweeter, less bitter and less hard.” But, as Simone explains, this is a wartime tradition when potatoes had to be stored for a long time. And a version adopted by the most traditional chefs.
The rule itself, which is nonnegotiable for Simone, is: “Gnocchi must always be eaten fresh.”
“Prepare it, put it on the trays and then cook it. In Italian school we learn that it has to be flour, potatoes, egg, salt, black pepper and some Parmigiano Reggiano (a very noble type of cheese in Italy). a cousin of Parmesan) or Grana Padano, one of the two, not another type of cheese. And even in Italy the recipe varies depending on the region.
What Simone reiterates, however, is that the habit of always eating on the 29th became stronger even in South America when Italians immigrated here. “This question of tradition is only up to you (the Latinos).”
🤔 Curiosity… According to the Argentine newspaper El Clarin, Pantaleon lived only 28 years and died on July 27, 305 by beheading after being tortured. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, there is a temple in the Mataderos district where part of a bone from the saint's arm has been uncovered since 1970.