Making Gnocchi

Nowadays most Italians think of gnocchi as being made with potatoes. Yet the potato was not introduced to Europe until the sixteenth century. During the Renaissance, gnocchi were often made with bread. In all likelihood, gnocchi appeared on tables centuries before the arrival of the potato, since they call for only the most basic ingredients: flour and water. They are easy to make, so if you are new to the world of homemade pasta, you might try your hand at gnocchi before advancing to orecchiette, corzetti, cannelloni, lasagne, tagliatelle and, finally, stuffed pastas such as ravioli and tortellini.