Bottles of Limoncello, pottery from Tuscany, or Venetian glass may be the best gifts to bring back from Italy, but they are heavy, breakable, and inconvenient to travel with. So what do you buy for all those friends who were thrilled with a set of cloth napkins from the market after your last trip?
When a keychain and a shot glass don't cut it, here is the easiest to carry, least breakable, most authentically Italian, and inexpensive souvenir: the gnocchi board. It will set you back only a few Euros, packs well, and probably weighs about as much as your travel shampoo. Make it more fancy by pairing it with a recipe, printed out when you get home.
Instructions for use: with your thumb, push each raw gnoccho very gently on the board for about half a roll until it curls over a little to make a shell shape, like in the photo above. And voila! Perfect gnocchi ridges. The recipe books say to use a fork to make the ridges, and of course, you could, because not everybody is privileged enough to have an actual gnocchi board.
Added bonus of this gift: your friends will need to invite you over to inspect and taste their creations, of course. Buon appetito!
Please comment with great Italian souvenirs you have given or received, too!
Photo of gnocchi board by Madeline
Photos of gnocchi by From Argentina with Love
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um that looks so goodim hungry so is lyndie
Posted by: Franny | March 25, 2011 at 07:33 PM
Yummy!! I like too much Souvenir. When I see it I can't stop my self. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Posted by: קלאב מד | October 19, 2011 at 07:06 AM