In Roman folk tradition, the saying goes: “Gnocchi on Thursday, fish on Friday, tripe on Saturday.” A small gastronomic calendar that once marked the meals of families and taverns. Among these dishes, Thursday was dedicated to gnocchi—and not just potato ones. Among the oldest and most refined versions are semolina gnocchi, also known as gnocchi alla romana: golden discs, soft on the inside and lightly gratinated on the surface, made with semolina cooked in milk and then baked with butter and cheese.
They’re called gnocchi, even though they’re very different from the more common ones: the medieval Lombard term knohha simply meant a “knot,” a small, rounded mass of dough. In this recipe, the star is semolina, drizzled into hot milk and carefully stirred until a thick, velvety cream forms. Once rolled out and cooled, the dough is cut into disks and baked in the oven, releasing the aroma of home cooking.
Precisely because of this sentimental and cultural value, at the AbanoRitz we have chosen to offer semolina gnocchi on the menu every fourteen days; we believe that good cuisine must preserve tradition and begin with simple, authentic, and carefully crafted ingredients.
But there’s something more. Dishes like this have the extraordinary ability to bring back the scent of the table set with grandmother’s recipes, where we’d cut out semolina discs with a little glass. Just like Proust’s famous madeleines, a few bites are enough to bring back forgotten memories and sensations.
And speaking of gnocchi, Veneto has a long history; in many cities in the region, they’re even a symbol of celebration: in Verona, for example, on the Friday Gnocolar of Carnival, potato gnocchi are celebrated as a signature dish. This demonstrates how, throughout Italy, gnocchi represent a popular cuisine made with few ingredients and great skill; reintroducing them at the AbanoRitz therefore means doing something simple yet precious: keeping alive the memory of Italian cuisine, born from tradition and still resonating today.
