In Italy today the most common kind of gnocchi is made with potatoes and flour, but the origin of this plate dates back to the Middle Ages, with recipes written a few centuries before the discovery of the New World. Besides, even after the 16th century, gnocchi refers to different preparations made with many ingredients: usually, grated bread, cheese, eggs, and flour. Still today there are semolina gnocchi, called gnocchi alla Romana, an example of the continuity of the culinary tradition throughout the centuries.
It is unclear what is the origin of the term, but we suppose it may refer to the size and shape of this kind of pasta. Gnocchi, nocchi or nochi, indeed, are described in relation to the kind of nut they look like: walnut (nocchie or nochie in medieval vernacular), chestnut, pine nuts (pinocchi or pignocchi), or hazelnuts. Still today, noce (walnut) is a unit of measurement in Italian, used often for the butter.
The recipe we are presenting today is taken from an anonymous 14th century Tuscan manuscript, published in a print edition for the first time in 1887 with the title Frammento di un Libro di Cucina del Secolo XIV.
Below, you will find the original text with our translation into English, the method with a note, and the video of the recipe with subtitles in English and Italian. Enjoy!
If you want to know more about historical pasta, read our book Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies, where you will find historical information about cereals and their preparations from the Antiquity to the end of the Renaissance, with 114 recipes for pasta, bread, pizza, pies, and more, newly translated and explained.
If you are interested in late-medieval cuisine, we recommend Libro de la Cocina. Medieval Tuscan Recipes and Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook. To learn about the transition between ancient and medieval cooking, check out De Observatione Ciborum, written by the physician Anthimus to the king of the Franks Theuderic. If you are interested in recipes for vegetables from the Antiquity to the beginning of the Modern Era in Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers available in English and Italian.
For information about ancient cuisine, read Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources. Moreover, full translations of historical sources and articles on ancient and medieval cooking are available on Patreon.
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Ingredients
300 gr cheese
3 egg yolks
50 gr white wheat flour
aged sheep cheese
Method
Cut and pound the cheese in the mortar, then mix with the raw egg yolks and the flour. The consistency of the dough needs to be quite soft. Shape roughly the dough into two cylinders two-finger thick. Place abundant water in a pot and make it boil. When it boils, add a couple of pinches of salt and pour hot water on a cutting board. Place one of the cylinders on the board and cut pieces about one-finger thick making them fall into the boiling water. Cook for about one minute. As soon as the gnocchi surface on the water, drain and plate them.
Serve with a good amount of grated sheep cheese.
Note about the method and ingredients
In the recipe there are no directions about the kind of cheese, just to use fresh and grated cheese. In the Middle Ages, there were fresh, firm, and hard cheeses made with cow, buffalo, sheep, and goat milk. You can use the ones you prefer.
The author mentions migliacci to describe the consistency of the dough. From other manuscripts, we find out that this was a kind of cheesecake, prepared with a soft mix of eggs, cheese, and flour. It is important to use a little quantity of flour, just enough to allow the dough to keep its shape. Too much flour would make the dough hard: as a consequence, it would need a long cooking time, making the gnocchi dissolving in the water. We suggest using a fresh cheese with a little content of humidity for the same reason.
Original text
Togli lo cascio fresco e pestalo; poscia togli la farina et intridi con tuorla d’uova a modo di migliacci. Poni il paiuolo al fuoco con acqua e quando bolle, poni lo triso in su in uno taglieri, fallo andare con la cazza nel paiuolo, e quando sono cotti, poni sopra gli taglieri e getta su assai cacio grattugiato.
Translation
Take fresh cheese and pound it; then, take flour and mix with egg yolks in a similar way as migliacci. Place a pot filled with water on the fire. When it boils, place the dough on a plate and with a ladle make it enter in the pot. Once they are cooked, place them on the plates and coat with a good amount of grated cheese.
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Books
Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes
Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks.
Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE)
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century)
Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century)
Enseignemenz (14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century)
Recipes
Tuscan Chicken Soup with Unripe Grapes
Early-medieval Kohlrabi Stew
Tuscan Fried Leek Rings
Pork Ribs
Tuscan Pancakes with Wild Flowers
Hop Shoots
Shrimp – Savore de Gambari
Orange Frittata – Fritata de Pomerantiis
Tuscan Soup with Hen and Florence Fennel
The diet of the Franks – Celery Root and Beef Stew
Tuscan Fish Cakes – Salciccie di Pescio
Tuscan Stew with Pork Belly and Rutabaga
Pork and Onion Soup
Tuscan Radish Soup
The Diet of the Franks – Endive and Pork Jowl
Tuscan Fried Meatballs
The Diet of the Franks – Chicken Stew
Castagnazzi
Renaissance Stuffed Cucumbers
Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce
Renaissance Fried Tomatoes
Herbolata
The Diet of the Franks – Beef Stew
Fried Chicken Soup
Beef Roast with Garlic Sauce
Bread Soup
Salted Meat and Peas
Baghdadi Rice Cream
Chicken with White-Pepper Sauce – Piperatum Album
Indian Chickpeas and Meat
The Diet of the Franks – Pork Stew
Chestnut and Mushrooms
Lentils with Oregano and Watermint
Egyptian Bread with Pistachios and Almonds
Veal with Fennel-Flower Sauce
Pork Roast with Green Sauce
Eggs Poached in Wine
Brodium Theutonicum
Crispellae – Pancakes with Saffron and Honey
Brodium Sarracenium – Chicken Stew
Fava Beans and Pork
Erbe Minute – Meatballs with Herbs
Lettuce and Pork Soup
Zanzarelli – Egg and Cheese Soup
Turnip and Beef Soup for Servants
Cheese Pasta – Vivanda Bona
Gratonata – Chicken Stew
Chickpea Soup with Poached Eggs
Apple Fritters
Hippocras and Claretum – Mulled Wine
Pastero – Pork Pie
10th-century Goat Roast – A Langobard at the Court of the Byzantine Emperor
Romania – A Recipe Between Arabic and Italian Tradition – Medieval Chicken with Pomegranates
Emperor’s Fritters
Medieval Pizza – The Origin of Pizza
Roast Chicken with Salsa Camellina
Sweet Rice
Afrutum or Spumeum – 6th-century Byzantine recipe
A Medieval Breakfast – Wine, Carbonata, and Millet Bread
Salviata – Eggs and Sage
Tria di Vermicelli
Cabbage Soup
Frittelle Ubaldine – Pancakes with Flowers and Herbs
Saffron Cheesecake
Drunken Pork – Early Medieval Pork Stew
Medieval Monk’s Stuffed-Egg Soup
Apple Pie
Onion Soup
Gnocchi
Lentils and Mustard Greens
Chicken soup – Brodo Granato
Turnip Soup
Beans and Bacon – Black-Eyed Peas
Prawn Pie – Pastello de Gambari
Foxtail Millet Polenta and Spit-Roasted Goose
Beef Stew
Blancmange
Leek Soup
Quail Stew with Coconut
Chicken Pie
Ravioli
Almond Cream
Red Mullet Soup
Spit Roast Beef with Arugula Seeds
Walnut Bread
Lasagna
Tripe
Fried Fish
Roast Lamb with Green Sauce
Clams
Sweet and Sour Sardines
Trouts with Green Sauce
Lamb Stew
Quails with Sumac
Chicken with Fennel Flowers
Sea Bream
Historical Italian Cooking 